If char can store a number in C++, why do we need int?

Question

The char data type can store numbers, characters, and symbols, so what is the need for the int data type?

char = '2';

I have knowledge of use of int, but I want to know the conceptual part to describe it fundamentally.

Here's a helpful post for you : https://stackoverflow.com/questions/37241364/difference-between-char-and-int-when-declaring-character — johnyak, Jul 10 '18 at 04:54
``char`` is 8-bit so it cannot hold number greater than 8-bit — Asesh, Jul 10 '18 at 05:04
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/589575/what-does-the-c-standard-state-the-size-of-int-long-type-to-be — Kostia Shiian, Jul 10 '18 at 05:07
Maybe you should try to store the number `256` in your `char` variable and try to print it. — Sid S, Jul 10 '18 at 05:09
Intriguing question (+1). I'd turn it around: why do we need `char`? Note that `'2'` is an `int` type in C. — Bathsheba, Jul 10 '18 at 07:02
@user4581301: Actually it *can't* equal 2. The reason is subtle. The characters `'0'` to `'9'` need to be contiguous, and none of them can be 0. — Bathsheba, Jul 10 '18 at 07:03

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 10 '18 at 05:12

Usually, int can hold larger numbers than char. In current, widely available architectures, int is 32-bit, while char is 8-bit. Furthermore, it is implementation defined that a char is signed or unsigned.

On these architectures int can hold numbers between -2147483648 and 2147483647, while a (signed) char can hold numbers between -128 and 127.

If char can store a number in C++, why do we need int?

1 Answers1