CompTIA Tech+ (FC0-U71)Software Development ConceptsMedium
A junior developer is writing a program that needs to store a user's age, which will always be a whole number. Which of the following data types would be the most memory-efficient choice?
- AFloat
- BInteger
- CBoolean
- DString
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Integer
An integer data type is specifically designed to store whole numbers, making it the most appropriate and memory-efficient choice for an age value which is always a whole number. Other types would either use more memory or be unsuitable.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Float stores decimal numbers and uses more memory than an integer for whole numbers.
- C. Boolean stores true/false values and cannot represent age.
- D. String stores text and uses significantly more memory than an integer for a number.
Integer Data Type
An integer data type is used to store whole numbers (positive, negative, or zero) without any fractional components.
- Represents non-decimal numbers.
- Memory usage varies by language and specific integer type (e.g., short, int, long).
- Efficient for counting and indexing.
Memory trick: Data types are like different-sized containers for your data.