C# int.MaxValue, MinValue (Get Lowest Number)

Examine the int.MaxValue and int.MinValue constants. Use int.MaxValue to find the lowest number.

Int.MaxValue. An int has a maximum value it can represent. This value is found with int.MaxValue. The minimum value too can be determined with int.MinValue.Int, uint

Numeric types (int, uint, short and ushort) have specific max values. These are constants—they never change. But we do not need to memorize them to use them.

Values. Microsoft states that MaxValue is a "public const int". With a bit of exploration, I found this information about the MaxValue and MinValue constants.

Fields: The fields are constant values and can be accessed anywhere with the composite name.

Tip: By using these constants, you can avoid typing out 10-digit numbers in your programs.

const

Constant values: short.MaxValue: 32767 short.MinValue: -32768 ushort.MaxValue: 65535 ushort.MinValue: 0 int.MaxValue: 2,147,483,647 int.MinValue: -2,147,483,648 uint.MaxValue: 4,294,967,295 uint.MinValue: 0 long.MaxValue: 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 long.MinValue: -9,223,372,036,854,775,808

Example. One problem I have dealt with is keeping track of the lowest number found. You can use int.MaxValue to start the value high, and then any lower number will be valid.Foreach

Note: When you start your variable at MaxValue, you will want to know the constraints in your program.

Important: If the MaxValue can occur, then you will need to be careful with the logic. But it would work correctly here.

C# program that uses int.MaxValue using System; class Program { static void Main() { int[] integerArray = new int[] { 10000, 600, 1, 5, 7, 3, 1492 }; // This will track the lowest number found int lowestFound = int.MaxValue; foreach (int i in integerArray) { // By using int.MaxValue as the initial value, // this check will usually succeed. if (lowestFound > i) { lowestFound = i; Console.WriteLine(lowestFound); } } } } Output 10000 600 1

Min, max. We can access MinValue and MaxValue in the same way. Be careful not to assign an unsigned value to int.MinValue—it is a negative number.

C# program that uses MinValue and MaxValue using System; class Program { static void Main() { // Display min and max. Console.WriteLine("MIN: " + int.MinValue); Console.WriteLine("MAX: " + int.MaxValue); } } Output MIN: -2147483648 MAX: 2147483647

Discussion. In C# and Windows, there is no performance boost in using smaller data types in loops. Using ushort instead of int just creates unclear code.

But: Prefer ushort, short and byte, for data structures—this reduces memory use.

short, ushort Byte

Constants. When you have other constants to define, declare them as "public const int ValueName". This has great performance, and is standard and clear. It works well with IntelliSense.

Also: Instead of using int.MaxValue and int.MinValue, consider nullable types, used with Nullable<int> or "int?".

Nullable

A summary. We saw values and examples for the max and min constants on number types in the C# language. I suggest that you avoid typing out numbers like -2,147,483,648 unless needed.