Data Types

Introduction to Data Types

• Data types define the kind of value a variable can store and how it’s stored.
• Different data types have different sizes and can store different ranges of values.

Common Data Types

• Integer: Used to store whole numbers.
• Floating Point: Used for numbers with decimal points.
• Boolean: Represents either ‘True’ or ‘False’.
• Character: For single letters or symbols.
• String: Used to store text.

Signed and Unsigned Integers

• Signed Integers represent both positive and negative numbers using most significant bit (MSB) for sign (0 for positive, 1 for negative).
• Unsigned Integers only represent non-negative values and thus have a larger positive range.

Limits of Data Types

• Each data type has a specific range of values it can store.
• For instance, an 8-bit signed integer can store values from -128 to 127.

Choosing the Right Data Type

• The choice of a data type comes down to the requirements of the data you’re dealing with.
• Using the wrong data type might lead to unexpected results or wastage of memory.

Data Type Conversions

• It’s possible to change the data type of a value, this is known as type conversion or type casting.
• Some type conversions can be done automatically by the system (implicit conversion), while others need to be instructed manually (explicit conversion).
• Care should be taken as type conversion can also lead to data loss if the receiving type’s range cannot handle the original data.