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diff --git a/docs/source/lang/unsignedint.rst b/docs/source/lang/unsignedint.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..aa5cc1b --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/source/lang/unsignedint.rst @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +.. highlight:: cpp + +.. _lang-unsignedint: + +unsigned int +============ + +Description +----------- + +An ``unsigned int`` (unsigned integer) is the same as an :ref:`int +<lang-int>` in that it stores a 4 byte integer value. However, +Instead of storing both negative and positive numbers, an ``unsigned +int`` can only store nonnegative values, yielding a range of 0 to +4,294,967,295 (the positive value is 2^32 - 1). + +The difference between an ``unsigned int`` and a (signed) ``int`` lies +in the way the highest bit, sometimes referred to as the "sign" bit, +is interpreted. In the case of the Maple ``int`` type (which is +signed), if the high bit is a "1", the number is interpreted as a +negative number, using a technique known as `two's complement math +<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two%27s_complement#Explanation>`_. The +bits in an an ``unsigned int`` are interpreted according to the usual +rules for converting `binary to decimal +<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_numeral_system#Counting_in_binary>`_. + +An ``unsigned int`` is subject to the same :ref:`overflow issues +<lang-int-overflow>` as a regular ``int``; the only difference is +that an ``unsigned int`` will "underflow" at 0, and "overflow" at +4,294,967,295. Here is some example code which illustrates this:: + + unsigned int x; + x = 0; + x--; // x now contains 4,294,967,295; rolled over "left to right" + x++; // x now contains 0; rolled over "right to left" + +Here is an example of declaring an ``unsigned int`` variable named +``ledPin``, then giving it value 13:: + + unsigned int ledPin = 13; + +The general syntax for declaring an ``unsigned int`` variable named +``var``, then giving it value ``val``, looks like:: + + unsigned int var = val; + +See Also +-------- + +- :ref:`int <lang-int>` +- :ref:`char <lang-char>` +- :ref:`unsigned char <lang-unsignedchar>` +- :ref:`long <lang-long>` +- :ref:`unsigned long <lang-unsignedlong>` +- :ref:`Integer Constants <lang-constants-integers>` +- :ref:`Variables <lang-variables>` + +.. include:: cc-attribution.txt |