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Size of char
Jul 18, 2019 at 11:39am
Hi :)
Is is true that char has a different size depending on computer? If yes, could you say, why?
(sry for bad eng, i'm not native English)
Is is true that char has a different size depending on computer? If yes, could you say, why?
(sry for bad eng, i'm not native English)
Jul 18, 2019 at 12:23pm
It is defined, in C++, as being the size of a single addressable lump of memory. By definition, one byte.
However, the size of a byte (i.e. how many bits it contains) is not the same across all systems everywhere. Thanks to various parts of the C++ standard, a char in C++ must be at least 8 bits, but could be larger.
You can read about it here: https://isocpp.org/wiki/faq/intrinsic-types#sizeof-char
All that said, if you're using fairly standard x86 and x64 systems, you don't have to worry about unusual byte sizes.
sizeof(char) will always be one.However, the size of a byte (i.e. how many bits it contains) is not the same across all systems everywhere. Thanks to various parts of the C++ standard, a char in C++ must be at least 8 bits, but could be larger.
You can read about it here: https://isocpp.org/wiki/faq/intrinsic-types#sizeof-char
All that said, if you're using fairly standard x86 and x64 systems, you don't have to worry about unusual byte sizes.
Last edited on Jul 18, 2019 at 12:23pm
Jul 18, 2019 at 1:35pm
In the event that you are on some very unique hardware*, you can use CHAR_BIT defined in <climits> to know how many bits are in a char on your platform.
* https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5516044/system-where-1-byte-8-bit
* https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5516044/system-where-1-byte-8-bit
Last edited on Jul 18, 2019 at 1:37pm
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