Question

i m trying to make a program to convert a number into it’s binary.

Code:

    #include<iostream>
    #include<algorithm>
    #include<bitset>
    using namespace std;
    int main()
    {
        int a;
        string k;
        bitset<CHAR_BIT> n;
        cin>>a;
        n=bitset<CHAR_BIT>(a);
        cout<<n<<" ";
            return 0;
   }

The program gives wrong answer for 585 as it contains more than 6 binary digits. How can i such greater numbers?

Answer 1

A bitset has a fixed number of bits. You specify bitset<CHAR_BIT> — on most systems, CHAR_BIT is 8 so you will have an 8-bit bitset. When you try to stuff a bigger number into the bitset, the most significant bits are discarded.

If you know in advance the largest numbers you will have to deal with, you can specify eg bitset<16> or bitset<32>. If you don’t, you may have to use some other datatype.