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From: ecf_eprm@jhunix.UUCP (Paul R Markowitz)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Int and Char
Message-ID: <3250@jhunix.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 24-Jul-86 09:31:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: jhunix.3250
Posted: Thu Jul 24 09:31:56 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 25-Jul-86 06:32:57 EDT
Reply-To: ecf_eprm@jhunix.UUCP (Paul R Markowitz)
Organization: Johns Hopkins Univ. Computing Ctr.
Lines: 33


Don't C programmers know the difference between a char and an int?
I get these great public domain programs off the net and I spend
the next 2 weeks deciding which variables are declared as char
but really mean short.  You see, it's like this.  Short, int, and
long are all SIGNED.  That means they can take on negative values.
Chars are NOT SIGNED, there is no char called -1.  If you want a
variable that takes on negative values, use a short.  It certainly
makes your code easier for others to read as well as making it
more portable.

For my next question, why doesn't my C compiler accept declarations
like 'signed char a;' or something like that?  It says 'signed undefined'
and dies.  Is there no way to make up for the errors of others
and artificially make chars come out signed?  I am running sys V rel2
on an att 3b20.  

Just had to get this off my chest.

Paul
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Markowitz

"A pessimist is someone who won't call on G-d because he is certain he will
get an answering machine."

"Do you wonder if I'm really happy?            seismo!umcp-cs!jhunix!ins_aprm
 Am I just the company you keep?               bitnet: ins_aprm@jhuvms
 Which one of us excercises on the old         arpanet: ins_aprm%jhunix.BITNET@wiscvm.ARPA
   tread mill?
 Who hides his head pretending to sleep?"
-Ian Anderson (and Robert Burns?)