Each data object or function in the program must have a data type, assigned either explicitly or by default. C offers a wide variety of types. This diversity is a strong feature of C, but can be initially confusing. To help avoid this confusion, remember that C has only a few basic types. All other types are derived combinations of these basic types.
Type is assigned to each object or function as part of the declaration .
Chapter 4 describes declarations in more detail. Character types are stored as integers. Note Enumerated types are also normally classified as integral types, but for the purposes of clarity they are not listed here. See Section 3.6 for more information. The integral and floating-point types combined are called the arithmetic types .