Chapter 3. Working with Numbers

One of the C programming language's strengths lies in working with numbers. For this reason, it's a very important data type to master. Although the fundamentals of doing arithmetic and such are simple, the nuances of selecting and working with the different number types can often bewilder the beginning C programmer.

In this chapter you'll learn all about the main number types and how to determine which type to use—and when. Then you'll go through quick examples demonstrating the principles of arithmetic and operator precedence. Finally, you'll learn more of the bugaboos of using the various types and how you can—inadvertently or not—switch among them.