CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++templatestype-traits
azizbekian
azizbekian

Reputation: 62189

Why float is not considered as an integral type?

I'm watching over the type_traits, and accidentally came across the fact, that float is not considered to be an integral type. It was kinda surprise for me.

I looked through the web to find appropriate information, but couldn't find anything concerning that fact. All I could find is something like this:

If T is an integral type (bool, char, char16_t, char32_t, wchar_t, short, int, long, long long, including any signed, unsigned, and cv-qualified variants), provides the member constant value equal true. For any other type, value is false.

So the question here: Why did the C++ Standards Committee decide that float is not an integral type?

Upvotes: 7

Views: 3052

Answers (4)

uma_8331
uma_8331

Reputation: 97

Those are integral types because while storing integer types or characters in c++ ,it stores in integer format (even characters i.e., in ASCII format).But floats are not stored like that we don't have any method to convert floats to binary format

Upvotes: -1

Daniel Frey
Daniel Frey

Reputation: 56883

Jon's answer is right, but here's a short overview of some type traits that might help you:

  • is_integral checks if a type is integral type
  • is_floating_point checks if a type is floating point type
  • is_arithmetic checks if a type is either integral or floating point type

And here is a nice graph from Howard Hinnant that shows the relationship between the type categories.

Upvotes: 5

Ben Jackson
Ben Jackson

Reputation: 93860

I suspect your confusion is which meaning of integral applies:

Definition of INTEGRAL

1 a : essential to completeness : constituent "an integral part of the curriculum"

b (1) : being, containing, or relating to one or more mathematical integers (2) : relating to or concerned with mathematical integration or the results of mathematical integration

It's not (1a) essential to completeness (which float would be), but (1b) relating to the integers.

Upvotes: 5

Jon Skeet
Jon Skeet

Reputation: 1502106

An integral type is one which has only integers - whole numbers. The purpose of floating point types is to represent non-integers as well.

From the Wikipedia page on integer (computer science):

In computer science, an integer is a datum of integral data type, a data type which represents some finite subset of the mathematical integers.

Upvotes: 11

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