C++ Long Maximum Value
In C++, a long
is an integer data type used to store larger integer values compared to an int
. The size of a long
is typically 32 bits on most systems but can be 64 bits on others, depending on the system architecture. The maximum value a long
can represent is 2,147,483,647 on a 32-bit system or 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 on a 64-bit system. This value is defined by the LONG_MAX
macro in the <climits>
header.
Maximum Limit of Long Data Type
The long
data type represents numbers in the range:
- Minimum Value: -2,147,483,648 (32-bit systems) or -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 (64-bit systems)
- Maximum Value: 2,147,483,647 (32-bit systems) or 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 (64-bit systems)
The range is derived from the formula:
-2^(n-1) to 2^(n-1) - 1
Where n
is the number of bits used by the data type. For a long
:
- For 32-bit systems:
n = 32
, resulting in-2,147,483,648
to2,147,483,647
. - For 64-bit systems:
n = 64
, resulting in-9,223,372,036,854,775,808
to9,223,372,036,854,775,807
.
From this, the maximum limit of a long data type is 2,147,483,647
(32-bit systems) or 9,223,372,036,854,775,807
(64-bit systems).
C++ Program to Access Long Maximum Value
You can programmatically access the maximum value of a long
using the LONG_MAX
constant from the <climits>
header.
The following example demonstrates how to access and use the maximum value of a long
in your programs:
main.cpp
#include <iostream>
#include <climits>
int main() {
// Accessing the maximum value of long
std::cout << "The maximum value of long is: " << LONG_MAX << std::endl;
return 0;
}
Output in 32-bit system
The maximum value of long is: 2147483647
Output in 64-bit system
The maximum value of long is: 9223372036854775807
Explanation
- The
<climits>
header provides macros for the limits of fundamental data types in C++. - The
LONG_MAX
macro defines the maximum value of along
, which depends on whether the system uses a 32-bit or 64-bit architecture. - The program uses
std::cout
to output the maximum value of along
directly usingLONG_MAX
.