range of char

[Wolfgang Jeltsch]

Hello,

what does the ANSI C++ standard say about the minimal range of the char
type? Is it guaranteed that char contains at least the numbers from 0 to
255?

Thanks a lot.

Wolfgang

 

[WW]

Hello,

what does the ANSI C++ standard say about the minimal range of the
char type? Is it guaranteed that char contains at least the numbers
from 0 to 255?

Nope. It is implementation defined if char is signed or not. And yes, it
is guaranteed to have at least 8 bits, and all of its bits must be used in
the value representation.

 

[Buster]

what does the ANSI C++ standard say about the minimal range of the char
type? Is it guaranteed that char contains at least the numbers from 0 to
255?

The C++ standard ISO/IEC 14882:1998 is available from the ISO online
shop, http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/prods-services/ISOstore/store.html, for
US$18, and worth every penny.

Regards,
Buster.

 

[tom_usenet]

Hello,

what does the ANSI C++ standard say about the minimal range of the char
type? Is it guaranteed that char contains at least the numbers from 0 to
255?

On many platforms, including IIRC MSVC++, it has the range [-128, 127]
- remember, it can represent the same values as either signed or
unsigned char. However, unsigned char does have at least that range,
since it much have 8-bits or more, and every bit pattern must
represent a unique number (due to the modulo arithmetic rules).

Tom

 

[Ron Natalie]

Hello,

what does the ANSI C++ standard say about the minimal range of the char
type? Is it guaranteed that char contains at least the numbers from 0 to
255?

Absoltutely not. unsigned char has to do at least 0...255, but char can
either be signed or unsigned.