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C's Flexible Integer Sizes Were Not a Design Mistake

by @pikuma pikuma.com 17 min read

Word sizes, strange machines, and why <strong>int</strong> was never meant to mean 32 bits. C's flexible integer types were how the language achieved portability in a world of 12, 18, 36, and 60-bit computers.

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Software EngineeringProgramming Languages2026

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