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Re: Coding style question
From: |
Tim McIntosh |
Subject: |
Re: Coding style question |
Date: |
Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:59:32 -0500 |
On Apr 14, 2008, at 9:56 AM, Markus Hitter wrote:
Well, I'm still stunning why people prefer variable types of
undefined size[1] (int, NSInteger, etc.) over those with defined
size (int16, int32, int64, etc.). To my understanding of coding, one
should always care about the size of variables, ruling out types of
undefined size. Additionally, ideal code compiles and works on a 16
bit platform just as good as on a 128 bit platform, without
conditional code or similar clutches.
Generally, I think one should care about the minimum guaranteed range
of variables, not the exact size. The exact size should only be
important if one needs to rely on the overflow or modulo properties of
the type, or perform I/O using a machine-independent network packet or
file format. Using exact-sized types in cases where it is not
necessary is over-specification, and may produce suboptimal code in
some situations.
At least as of C99, C specifies minimum ranges to be supported by the
built-in types (see 5.2.4.2 Numerical Limits). I'm not sure if this
was true prior to C99.
-Tim