What is the difference between double and float in C language?

In C language, double and float are two data types used to represent floating point numbers.

  1. Accuracy: double variables can represent a larger range and higher precision of floating point numbers compared to float variables, which can only represent a smaller range and lower precision of floating point numbers. Double variables typically use 64 bits (8 bytes) of storage space, while float variables typically use 32 bits (4 bytes) of storage space.
  2. Range: The range of values that can be represented by double type is larger than that of float type. The range of float type is approximately from 1.2E-38 to 3.4E+38, while the range of double type is approximately from 2.3E-308 to 1.7E+308.
  3. Loss of precision: During floating point operations, a float type variable may experience loss of precision, while a double type variable has higher precision. This is because the storage space of float type is relatively small, and may not be able to accurately represent certain floating point numbers.

In general, if you need higher accuracy and a wider range, you can use the double data type. If you don’t require high precision and want to save memory space, you can use the float data type.

bannerAds