Definition
1. In computer science, an integer is a datum of integral data type, a data type that represents some finite subset of the mathematical integers. Integral data types may be of different sizes and may or may not be allowed to contain negative values. Integers are commonly represented in a computer as a group of binary digits (bits). The size of the grouping varies so the set of integer sizes available varies between different types of computers. Computer hardware, including virtual machines, nearly always provide a way to represent a processor register or memory address as an integer.
2. An integer (from the Latin integer meaning "whole") is a number that can be written without a fractional component. For example, 21, 4, 0, and −2048 are integers, while 9.75 and √2 are not. The set of integers consists of zero (0), the positive natural numbers (1, 2, 3, …), also called whole numbers or counting numbers, and their additive inverses (the negative integers, i.e., −1, −2, −3, …). This is often denoted by a boldface Z.
Abbreviation
int
Synonyms
whole number
Superterms
number or computer science
Subterms
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integer_(computer_science) (1.); https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integer (2.)
Author: Svenja Gutt
