C# 3.0 Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition

Numeric Types

C# has the following predefined numeric types.

C# type	System type	Suffix	Size	Range
Integral—signed		Â	Â	Â
sbyte	SByte	Â	8 bits	–27 to 27–1
short	Int16	Â	16 bits	–215 to 215–1
int	Int32	Â	32 bits	–231 to 231–1
long	Int64	L	64 bits	–263 to 263–1
Integral—unsigned		Â	Â	Â
byte	Byte	Â	8 bits	0 to 28–1
ushort	UInt16	Â	16 bits	0 to 216–1
uint	UInt32	U	32 bits	0 to 232–1
ulong	UInt64	UL	64 bits	0 to 264–1
Real	Â	Â	Â	Â
float	Single	F	32 bits	±( ~10–45 to 1038)
double	Double	D	64 bits	±( ~10–324 to 10308)
decimal	Decimal	M	128 bits	±( ~10–28 to 1028)

Of the integral types, int and long are first-class citizens and C# and the runtime favor both. The other integral types are typically used for interoperability or when space efficiency is paramount.

Of the real number types, float and double are called floating-point types and are typically used for scientific calculations. The decimal type is typically used for financial calculations, where base-10-accurate arithmetic and high precision are required.^[1]

Numeric Literals

Integral literals can use decimal or hexadecimal notation; hexadecimal is denoted with the 0x; prefix. For example:

	int x = 127;
	long y = 0x7F;

Real literals can use decimal and/or exponential notation. For example:

	double d = 1.5;
	double million = 1E06;

Numeric literal ...