standardisation of data types

[itsharkopath]

Hi,

why were the size and range of data types not standardised in C
language implementation.

shar.

[Artie Gold]

it**********@yahoo.com wrote:

Hi,

why were the size and range of data types not standardised in C
language implementation.

shar.

Mainly to allow implementors to make choices based upon the underlying
hardware.

C99 supplies data types with more specifically defined ranges and `sizes'.

HTH,
--ag

--
Artie Gold -- Austin, Texas
http://it-matters.blogspot.com (new post 12/5)
http://www.cafepress.com/goldsays

[Lawrence Kirby]

On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 19:18:26 -0800, itsharkopath wrote:

Hi,

why were the size and range of data types not standardised in C
language implementation.

Because there is no single set of type sizes tha fits naturally across the
range of hardware that C is implemented on, and efficiency of
implementation IS a consideration in the design of C.

Besides it isn't that common that you truely need exactly defined widths
for data types, a guaranteed minimum range of representable values is
typically enough.

Lawrence