Is the size of C “”int”” 2 bytes or 4 bytes?

The size of “int” in C language is a hot topic that often causes confusion in the reader’s mind. At the time when C was developed, the size of “int” was 2 bytes but as the time passed and the release of the updated version, the size typically reached 4 bytes. However, it isn’t a hard and fast rule, since the size of an “int” can vary depending on the compiler and the platform you are using for coding.

If you are confused about the size of “int” whether it’s 2 bytes or 4 bytes, follow this article’s guidelines.

Is the Size of C “int” 2 Bytes or 4 Bytes

In the early days, when C language was introduced, the one thing that came in developer minds was to make this language as simple as possible. At that time, the computer used a 16-bit processor, thus at that time, the size of “int” was fixed to 2 bytes. As the time passes, the system computing power increases and the developer then changes the size of “int” in C to 4 bytes. The reason for this is to allow C programmers to use large values and develop more power programs on the system.

What Factors Impacts the “int” size in C

There are three factors that impacts the “int” size in C, which are as follows:

1: The processor of a system highly impacts the “int” size. For a 32-bit architecture, the value of “int” size is 4 bytes. The reason is a byte is composed of 8 bits so if you multiply 8 bits/byte with 4 byte, the result will be 32-bit.

2: The operating system version also has a huge impact on “int” size and a 64-Bit operating system will use 4 bytes “int” types. However, this would still depend on other factors like compiler or platform being used.

3: The compiler also affects the “int” size in C and there are compilers that allow C programmers to configure the size of “int” according to their choice.

Different compilers could have different implementations of the C language, meaning they may view the C “int” data type in different ways. Most commonly, a compiler could consider an “int” in the C language to be 2 bytes or 4 bytes in size. A 2 bytes “int” would occupy two bytes of memory, with the values it could store being shown as -32768 to 32767. In contrast, a 4 byte “int” would occupy four bytes of memory, with values displayed as -2147483648 to 2147483647.

However, if we check the size of an “int” in a modern C++ Compiler, it gives us the answer:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <limits.h>

int main(int argc, char** argv) {
printf("Int_MAX : %d\n", INT_MAX);
printf("int_MIN : %d\n", INT_MIN);
return 0;
}

In the above code, we are determining the size of an “int” using the functions int_MAX() and int_MIN() which shows us that the size of an “int” is 4 bytes.

Output

Most modern compilers implement the C language in such a way that the size of a C “int” is 4 bytes. That said, some compilers do still utilize the 2 bytes “int” size, meaning developers must be sure to check which compiler they are using in order to make sure their program is working correctly.

Conclusion

The exact size of a C “int” data type can vary in accordance with the compiler being used. Most commonly, it is 4 bytes, allowing for a larger range of values to be stored. That said, some compilers can still implement the C language in such a way that the size of a C “int” is 2 bytes. Ultimately, the programmer must be aware of the compiler being used to determine the exact size of a C “int”.

Is the size of C “”int”” 2 bytes or 4 bytes?