Re: conversion from float to int&

From:
"Alf P. Steinbach" <alfps@start.no>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++
Date:
Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:59:13 +0200
Message-ID:
<13c0aofl8gma73e@corp.supernews.com>
* liujiaping:

The code is as follows:
  1 #include <iostream>
  2
  3 using namespace std;
  4
  5 int main()
  6 {
  7 float a = 1.0f;
  8 cout << (int)a << endl;
  9 cout << (int&)a << endl;
 10 cout << boolalpha << ( (int)a == (int&)a ) << endl;
 11 float b = 0.0f;
 12 cout << (int)b << endl;
 13 cout << (int&)b << endl;
 14 cout << boolalpha << ( (int)b == (int&)b ) << endl;
 15 return 0;
 16 }

The program output is:
1
1065353216
false
0
0
true

I am wondering why line 9 prints 1065353216, while line 13 prints 0.


Don't wonder about that, just stay away from it.

Can anybody explains this?


"(int&)a" is equivalent to "*reinterpret_cast<int*>(&a)". In other
words, you're accessing the bits of a float is if they represented an
int. The result is highly system-dependent.

However, in general, most likely a C++ implementation will use IEEE
format for floats, where a 0 is represented as all zero bits.

And what will happen if I convert a variable of type float to a
variable of type int&?


There is no such thing as a variable of type int&. References are not
objects. The variable is of type int.

For your own good, just DON'T USE CASTS.

If you absolutely need to use a cast, absolutely don't use C-style casts
(like you do above), but instead one or more of dynamic_cast,
const_cast, static_cast, and reinterpret_cast. That way you can search
for casts in your code, see the what the indended effect is, and perhaps
even understand more when your compiler complains.

--
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