uint

uint is the platform-dependent unsigned integer: its width matches the native pointer width of the compilation target. Use it for sizes, masks, and addresses that are naturally non-negative and never leave the program. It stores values in plain binary and wraps modulo 2ⁿ on overflow, where n is the target width; when the exact bit width matters, pick a fixed-width type instead.

Literals

let a: uint = 42;  // explicit annotation
let b = 42u;       // type suffix

Unlike int, uint is never inferred: an unannotated, unsuffixed integer literal is always int, so request uint with an explicit annotation or the u suffix. See Literals for decimal, hexadecimal, octal, and binary forms.

Typical Use Cases

• Memory sizes and pointer-width arithmetic
• Word-sized bitmasks
• Interop with C size_t-style parameters

Portability

Code that assumes a specific width for uint will behave differently on 32-bit and 64-bit targets. When the bit width must be exact — serialised data, hardware registers, cross-platform binary protocols — use a fixed-width type such as uint32 or uint64 instead.

Arithmetic

let a: uint = 10;
let b: uint = 3;

let sum  = a + b;   // 13
let quot = a / b;   // 3   truncates toward zero
let rem  = a % b;   // 1   always non-negative

Division truncates toward zero. Because unsigned values are never negative, both the quotient and the remainder are always non-negative.

Overflow. Unsigned arithmetic wraps modulo 2ⁿ (where n is the target width) in both debug and release builds — it never triggers a fatal error. Subtracting past zero wraps to a large value rather than going negative (0 - 1 yields the maximum), so prefer a signed type for any value that can legitimately fall below zero.

Comparison

Both operands must have the same type. Comparing uint with a fixed-width type such as uint32, or with a signed type such as int, is a compile-time error; cast one operand explicitly first.

Shift and Bitwise

Right shift on an unsigned value is logical: the vacated high bits are filled with zeros, never a sign bit. Left shift likewise fills the vacated low bits with zeros.

let u: uint = 20;  // 0b00010100
let l = u << 2;    // 80   logical left shift
let r = u >> 2;    //  5   logical right shift, zero-filled

Unsigned types are the natural home for bit manipulation; the operators & (AND), | (OR), ^ (XOR), and ~ (NOT) are all defined.

let a: uint = 0b1100;  // 12
let b: uint = 0b1010;  // 10
let and = a & b;       // 0b1000 = 8
let or  = a | b;       // 0b1110 = 14
let xor = a ^ b;       // 0b0110 = 6

Conversion

Rux performs no implicit numeric conversions — every conversion uses the as operator. Because uint has a target-dependent width, always cast to a fixed-width type before serialising or comparing across platforms.

let n: uint = 1000;
let fixed = n as uint32;  // pin to a known width
let s     = n as int;     // same width, bits reinterpreted

See Also

• int — signed counterpart of the same width
• uint32 / uint64 — the fixed-width types uint maps to