Integers are for numbers, enabling arithmetic like subtractions and for
loops without getting shot in the foot. Unsigneds are for bitfields.
- "int" for numbers that will always be laughably smaller than four
billion, and where we don't care about the serialization format.
- "int32" for numbers that will always be laughably smaller than four
billion, and will be serialized to four bytes.
- "int64" for numbers that may approach four billion or will be
serialized to eight bytes.
- "uint32" and "uint64" for bitfields, depending on required number of
bits and serialization format. Likewise "uint8" and "uint16", although
rare in this project since they don't exist in XDR.
- "int8", "int16" and plain "uint" are almost never useful.
Chris Howie
Audrius Butkevicius
Jakob Borg