How Do You Write Short Literals in C ?

Writing Short Literals in C

In C , several literal notations are used to represent different data types, such as 2 for int, 2L for long, and '2' for char. However, it may be unclear how to write literals for short, which stores 16-bit integers.

The problem becomes apparent when trying to use 2S as a short literal. While this notation may seem logical, it results in a compiler warning. The solution lies in using a cast to explicitly convert an integer to a short.

To write a short literal in C , follow these steps:

1. Cast an integer to short: Enclose an integer literal within parentheses and cast it to short. For example: (short)2

This approach is not strictly a short literal, but it behaves similarly. C does not offer a direct way to represent short literals.

Despite this, the compiler optimizes the code such that it allocates memory for a short rather than an int. Here's an example that demonstrates this behavior:

<code class="cpp">int a = 2L;
double b = 2.0;
short c = (short)2;
char d = '';</code>

When compiled and disassembled, the generated assembly code reveals that all variables are allocated memory as if they were the correct types:

movl    , _a
movl    , _b
movl    , _c
movl    , _d

Therefore, you need not concern yourself with the inefficiency of casting when working with short literals in C .

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