why does this happen?

[vw4x4]

char ch;
int ii;
ch=200;
int=ch;
cout<<"ii ="<<ch;
the result is ii=-56 and not 200 why?is this because of the range of signed char?

[Disch]

is this because of the range of signed char?

Yes.

Assuming 2's compliment....
char's range is [-128..127]. Anything outside of that range causes wrapping. ie:

char x = 127;
++x;
// now x is -128 (wrapped around)