abs

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Header File

stdlib.h, math.h

Category

Math Routines, Inline Routines

Prototype

int abs(int x);

Description

Returns the absolute value of an integer.

abs returns the absolute value of the integer argument x. If abs is called when stdlib.h has been included, it is treated as a macro that expands to inline code.

If you want to use the abs function instead of the macro, include

#undef abs

in your program, after the #include <stdlib.h>.

Return Value

The abs function returns an integer in the range of 0 to INT_MAX, with the exception that an argument with the value INT_MIN is returned as INT_MIN. The values for INT_MAX and INT_MIN are defined in header file limits.h.

Example

#include <stdio.h>
#include <math.h>
int main(void)
{
  int number = -1234;
  printf("number: %d  absolute value: %d\n", number, abs(number));
  return 0;
}

Portability

POSIX	Win32	ANSI C	ANSI C++
+	+	+	+