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C# Value Types

C# contains two general categories of built-in data types: value types and reference types. C#’s reference types are defined by classes, and a discussion of classes is deferred until later. However, at the core of C# are its 13 value types. These are built-in types that are defined by keywords in the C# language, and they are available for use by any C# program.

Table 3-1: The C# Value Types

Type

Meaning

bool

Represents true/false values

byte

8-bit unsigned integer

char

Character

decimal

Numeric type for financial calculations

double

Double-precision floating point

float

Single-precision floating point

int

Integer

long

Long integer

sbyte

8-bit signed integer

short

Short integer

uint

An unsigned integer

ulong

An unsigned long integer

ushort

An unsigned short integer

The term value type indicates that variables of these types contain their values directly. (This differs from reference types, in which a variable contains a reference to the actual value.) Thus, the value types act much like the data types found in other programming languages, such as C++. The value types are also known as simple types. The term primitive type is also occasionally used.

C# strictly specifies a range and behavior for each value type. Because of portability requirements, C# is uncompromising on this account. For example, an int is the same in all execution environments. There is no need to rewrite code to fit a specific platform. While strictly specifying the size of the value types may cause a small loss of performance in some environments, it is necessary in order to achieve portability.

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