Difference between revisions of "Integer"
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== See Also == | == See Also == | ||
* [[Number line]] | * [[Number line]] | ||
| + | * [http://docs.python.org/py3k/library/stdtypes.html#typesnumeric Python 3.2 Documentation] | ||
[[Category:Definition]] | [[Category:Definition]] | ||
Revision as of 21:53, 10 March 2011
An integer is one of the numbers obtained in counting the natural numbers (
), zero (
), or the negatives of the natural numbers (
). If 
and 
are integers, then their sum 
, their difference 
, and their product 
are all integers (that is, the integers are closed under addition and multiplication), but their quotient 
may or may not be an integer, depending on whether can be divided by with no remainder.
The class of integers is the simplest class of numbers and is used to construct other classes like the rational numbers and real numbers. The set of integers is symbolically written as 
.
Integers in Computer Science
In Python and just about all other programming languages integers are a primitive datatype. Unlike floating point numbers, integers are always stored exactly, and never approximated. However, in most languages integers are stored in a fixed amount of space (typically 32 bits), which limits their maximum value (typically to 
for signed 32-bit integers). Integers in Python can be of arbitrary size, theoretically limited only by computer memory.
All the standard numerical operators work on integers, as will the relational operators.
