CODEWITHSUNDEEP
integerhardwaresignedtwos-complement16-bit
user2884618
user2884618

Reputation: 41

Is a signed 16-bit integer the same as a two's complement 16-bit integer?

I know the difference between one's and two's compliment integers, however I'm uncertain on whether a signed 16-bit integer is the same as either or both of those.

Hopefully an easy yes/no question.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 687

Answers (2)

phuclv
phuclv

Reputation: 41753

Signed integer only means that the type can store negative values. It doesn't say anything about signed type representation which can be 1's complement, 2's complement or sign-magnitude... Even C and C++ standard nowadays don't force the use of 2's complement. But a signed type obviously can't be both 1's and 2's complement at the same time

In modern systems 2's complement is used exclusively (probably except some network devices) but older systems that use other signed representations exist, for example the UNISYS 2200 series

Upvotes: 2

Darius
Darius

Reputation: 199

Yes, saying an integer is signed is the same as saying it's using two's complement representation on your standard computer.

Upvotes: 1

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