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C/structure declaration in C

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Expert: - 7/17/2007


Question
Can I declare structure like this:
typedef struct a
{
       int i : 4;
       unsigned dirty : 1;
       char *name;

}b;

I tried it using a gcc compiler it does not give an error.

I even want to know what is the use of such type of declaration.

Answer
Yes. that works.
You are limiting the number of bits of i to 4 and dirty to 1.
So, even if you give a bigger number, they will truncate and only hold the last 4 or 1 digit.
This will be helpful, if you know the max limit and will help in conserving the memory.

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