C Program to Determine Storage Size of int, char, and float – Beginner’s Guide

When working with C programming, it’s essential to understand how much memory space each data type occupies. This knowledge helps programmers optimize their code and manage memory efficiently. In this post, we’ll cover how to determine the storage size of int, char, and float data types using a simple C program.

What is Storage Size in C?

In C, each data type occupies a specific amount of memory. The size of these data types depends on the machine architecture and the compiler used. Typically, the sizes for different data types are:

• int: 4 bytes (on most modern systems)
• char: 1 byte
• float: 4 bytes

But these values can vary depending on the system. That’s why C provides a way to determine the size of each type using the sizeof operator.

The sizeof Operator

The sizeof operator is a compile-time operator in C that returns the size, in bytes, of a data type or a variable. For example:

sizeof(int);  // Returns the size of int
sizeof(char); // Returns the size of char
sizeof(float);// Returns the size of float

Now, let’s look at a C program that uses the sizeof operator to find the storage size of int, char, and float.

Example: C Program to Find Storage Size

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    printf("Size of int: %zu bytes\n", sizeof(int));
    printf("Size of char: %zu bytes\n", sizeof(char));
    printf("Size of float: %zu bytes\n", sizeof(float));

    return 0;
}

Explanation of the Program

• #include <stdio.h>: This header file is included to use the printf() function for printing output to the console.
• sizeof(int): This returns the size of the int data type.
• sizeof(char): This returns the size of the char data type.
• sizeof(float): This returns the size of the float data type.
• %zu: This format specifier is used for printing the size_t type, which is the return type of sizeof.

Output

On most systems, the output will look something like this:

Size of int: 4 bytes
Size of char: 1 byte
Size of float: 4 bytes

The sizeof operator is a handy tool in C that helps you determine the storage size of any data type. By using it, you can write more efficient programs and better understand how your system manages memory. Always keep in mind that the size of these data types might vary depending on the system and compiler you are using.