Understanding Primitives

Primitive types refer to the simplest and most basic data types in programming that are built into a language and are not composed of other types. They represent the most fundamental forms of data in the language.

Primitive Types

Int (Signed Integers)

Represent whole numbers (positive, negative, or zero).

The size and range vary depending on the exact type:

Type	Bit Size	Range
Int	Depends
Int8	8 bits	-128 to 127
Int16	16 bits	-32,768 to 32,767
Int32	32 bits	-2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647
Int64	64 bits	-9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to 9,223,372,036,854,775,807

The size of Int is usually 64 bits, but it can also be 32 bits on certain systems (e.g., 32-bit machines).

UInt (Unsigned Integers)

Represent whole numbers but only non-negative values (no negative numbers). The size and range also depend on the number of bits used.

Type	Bit Size	Range
UInt	Depends
UInt8	8 bits	0 to 255
UInt16	16 bits	0 to 65,535
UInt32	32 bits	0 to 4,294,967,295
UInt64	64 bits	0 to 18,446,744,073,709,551,615

The size of UInt is usually 64 bits, but it can also be 32 bits on certain systems (e.g., 32-bit machines).

Char

Represents a single character, such as a letter, digit, or symbol. It represents one byte of unicode.

Example:

let character: Char = 'a';

String

Represents a sequence of characters or text. It’s used to store and manipulate text data.

Example:

let myText: String = "Hello Glu!";

Float / Double

Represent real numbers (numbers with decimal points), following the IEEE 754 standard for floating-point arithmetic, which defines how numbers are stored and calculated.

Type	Bit Size	Precision
Float	32 bits	~7 decimal places
Double	64 bits	~15-16 decimal places

Bool

A Boolean type that represents logical values. It can only be either true or false.

Example:

let hasBrain: Bool = false;