With regard to Solidity, What is UINT256?
From the token example at https://ethereum.org/token :
/* This creates an array with all balances */
mapping (address => uint256) public balanceOf;
Beyond being a variable type in general computing, I'd love to gain a better of understanding and context in the Ethereum world. Why not just use an INT? Assuming it's a specific type of Integer, what does the "U" denote?
Best Answer
This is really more a general computer science question that would best be answered on Stack Overflow.
At the risk of repeating what @Ismael has linked to...
U
- unsigned (meaning this type can only represent positive integers, not positive and negative integers)INT
- integer256
- 256 bits in sizeContext: The EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) uses 256 bits as its word size. See: Rationale behind 256-bit words in EVM