Getting rid of int

From: Jamie Vicary (Xjamie.Xvicary_at_Xmansf.Xox.Xac.Xuk)
Date: 08/25/04 

Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 15:18:11 +0100

Dear all,

        I am writing a C library to deal with integer data for a specialised
task. I am only giving support for unsigned short, signed short,
unsigned long and signed long integers.

        I am neglecting signed and unsigned ints because, as far as I can tell,
shorts are 4 bit, longs are 8 bit, and ints are either 4 or 8 bits
depending on your compiler - seems like an unnecessary confusion to me.
The user should know whether 4 or 8 bits is right for her program, and
choose the right type accordingly.

        Given this ambiguity, why is the int type so extensively used? Is there
another advantage to having ints in addition to shorts and longs which I
haven't realised?

                Regards,

                        Jamie Vicary.

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