C# | Use of the short Keyword
In C#, short
is a keyword used to declare a 16-bit signed integer data type. It is a primitive data type that can store whole numbers in the range of -32,768 to 32,767.
Syntax
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short variableName;
Example
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using System;
class ShortExample
{
static void Main()
{
// Declare a short variable
short myShort = 3000;
Console.WriteLine("Value of myShort: " + myShort);
// Perform arithmetic operations
short result = (short)(myShort + 2000);
Console.WriteLine("Result after addition: " + result);
// Overflow example
short maxShort = short.MaxValue;
Console.WriteLine("Max value of short: " + maxShort);
// Overflow will occur
short overflowedResult = (short)(maxShort + 1);
Console.WriteLine("Overflowed result: " + overflowedResult);
}
}
In the example above:
- We declare a
short
variable namedmyShort
and initialize it with the value 3000. - Perform addition on
myShort
and display the result. - Illustrate the concept of overflow by attempting to add 1 to the maximum value of
short
, resulting in an overflow.
It’s important to note that when performing arithmetic operations that may lead to overflow or underflow, explicit casting is required to avoid compilation errors.
Use Cases
- When memory optimization is crucial, and the range of values to be stored is within the limits of a 16-bit signed integer.
- Situations where the storage of larger integer values is not required, saving memory compared to
int
orlong
.
What Next?
In summary, the short
keyword in C# is useful for scenarios where memory efficiency is a priority, and the range of values falls within the limits of a 16-bit signed integer.
This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.