Type Casting

In C++, type casting refers to converting one data type to another. This can be necessary when performing operations involving different data types or when data needs to fit into a specific type.

Mathematical operations and data types

When performing mathematical operations, the result’s data type is determined by the types of the operands. The rule is simple: the result’s data type is the larger of the two operands’ types. For example:

• Adding a float and a double: The result will be a double since double is larger than float.

• Adding a float and an int: The result will be a float since a float is larger than an int.

• Adding two integers: The result will be an integer.

• Multiplying an int and a double: The result will be a double, as it is larger than an int data type.

The compiler automatically handles these conversions, ensuring that the result is stored in the appropriate type.

Data types

Let’s look at the illustration below.

The illustration organizes data types by size and precision, with smaller data types on the left and larger ones on the right. The arrow demonstrates how type casting works during data conversion:

• Left to right: Converting from a smaller data type (e.g., int ...