Talk:Integer overflow

Integer arithmetics are frequently used in computer programs on all types of systems, since floating-point operations may incur higher overhead (depending on processor capabilities).

Floating-point operations may or may not actually be more expensive than integer arithmetic on given hardware. I think there are much better reasons to use integers instead of floats: integers are exact and give you more precision than floats of the same size. For example, in a 32-bit integer, you get 32 bits of precision, whereas an IEEE single precision float, which also takes 32 bits, provides only 24 bits of precision (23 bits mantissa, and the sign bit). When the numbers you're trying to represent are integers (or even rationals with a common denominator), you're therefore better off using ints.

Inglorion 09:27, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Integer overflow is a special case of arithmetic overflow. I don't see the need for two articles. Derek farn 08:54, 10 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]