Python minimum integer

In Python, the minimum integer value for signed integers depends on the bit width of the integer representation used by your Python interpreter. Python has two main integer types:

1. int: This is a flexible integer type that can represent integers of arbitrary size, limited only by available memory. There is no fixed minimum or maximum value for int in Python 3.x.
2. sys.maxsize: This constant from the sys module represents the maximum positive integer value that can be used as an index in Python data structures, such as lists. It is typically the maximum value for signed integers on your platform. For 64-bit Python, it’s usually 9223372036854775807.
3. float('-inf'): This is a special constant representing negative infinity in Python’s floating-point representation. While not an integer type, it can be used to represent a conceptually minimum integer value.

In Python, you can find the minimum integer value by using the min() function or by simply assigning a negative value to a variable. Here are two examples:

Using the min() function:

minimum_integer = min(-sys.maxsize - 1, -2**31)
print(minimum_integer)

Assigning a negative value directly:

minimum_integer = -sys.maxsize - 1
print(minimum_integer)

In both examples, we use -sys.maxsize - 1 to represent the minimum integer value in Python. sys.maxsize is a constant that represents the largest positive integer that can be used as an index in Python, and subtracting 1 from it gives you the minimum representable integer. However, in practice, you can often just use -2**31 as an approximation for the minimum 32-bit signed integer value.

Python minimum integer example

Here’s an example that demonstrates the minimum integer value in Python using the -sys.maxsize - 1 approach:

import sys

minimum_integer = -sys.maxsize - 1

print("The minimum integer value in Python is:", minimum_integer)

Output:

This code imports the sys module to access the sys.maxsize constant and then calculates the minimum integer value by subtracting 1 from -sys.maxsize. When you run this code, it will print the minimum integer value, which is typically -9223372036854775808 on most systems (for 64-bit Python).

Note: IDE: PyCharm 2021.3.3 (Community Edition)

Windows 10

Python 3.10.1

All Python Examples are in Python 3, so Maybe its different from python 2 or upgraded versions.