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[on:]

Hey guys,

after googling for a while I found out that bool and boolean can be used interchangeably in the Arduino IDE. Is that correct?
I personally prefer bool, because it is standard C language style. What do you think?

And if it is correct, why do I get a 14 bytes larger program when compiling the following code:

http://pastebin.com/t7LxjMJ7

and declaring the variables at line 20 and 21 as bool instead of boolean?

(boolean: 8378 bytes, bool: 8392 bytes).

I know, it is not that much memory, but every little byte counts when you only have 32k of them...

Another strange thing: whether or not I declare the function at line 35 as bool or boolean I always get the same compiled size.
What is wrong with the compiler?

[Reply #1 on:]

In Arduino.h, boolean is a typedef for uint8_t. I suspect that the bool type is optimized for holding true or false, while the boolean pseudo-type is not.

[Reply #2 on:]

'bool' is the same size as 'int' which is 2 bytes on most Arduino boards.

[Reply #3 on:]

because it is standard C language style.

I use unsigned char, which at comparison time, is really int.

[Reply #4 on:]

In Arduino.h, boolean is a typedef for uint8_t. I suspect that the bool type is optimized for holding true or false, while the boolean pseudo-type is not.

Doesn't it have to be the other way round? Because in my sketch, boolean gets a smaller output than bool.

'bool' is the same size as 'int' which is 2 bytes on most Arduino boards.

But why doesn't changing the function return variable from boolean to bool the sketch compiled size then?

[Reply #5 on:]

The size of the sketch isn't directly a result of the size of the variables. That is, increasing a variable you use from a byte to an int isn't going to increase the sketch size by a single byte. It will affect the SRAM, but the program memory is dependent on the AVR instruction set. So if changing an aspect of the code doesn't affect the sketch size, that means that either it didn't affect the assembled code, or the same overall size instructions are used.

[Reply #6 on:]

Code:

  Serial.println(sizeof(bool));
  Serial.println(sizeof(boolean));

returns
1
1

so size seems to be the same on first sight.

[Reply #7 on:]

My mistake apparently it may be compiler, and, or architecture dependent.

My results match 1 byte on the current compiler as well.

Same under Windows (VS), MacOS (clang) and several version of Linux (gcc).

I wonder when that changed ...

[Reply #8 on:]

My mistake apparently it may be compiler, and, or architecture dependent.

My results match 1 byte on the current compiler as well.

Same under Windows (VS), MacOS (clang) and several version of Linux (gcc).

I wonder when that changed ...

I'm guessing bool is the "fastest" type, which is not necessarily the smallest type. On an 8 bit computer, 8 bits is the fastest. On bigger computers, the fastest size can be different.

[Reply #9 on:]

after googling for a while I found out that bool and boolean can be used interchangeably in the Arduino IDE. Is that correct?

Pretty much.

I personally prefer bool, because it is standard C language style. What do you think?

I prefer bool.

And if it is correct, why do I get a 14 bytes larger program when compiling the following code:

Code:

                Serial.println(heatingStatus);

heatingStatus is extended to 16 bits (one machine instruction) when heatingStatus is bool (different println is called).

Code:

                Serial.println(mixerStatus);

Ditto.  Repeat for the remaining prints.

Another strange thing: whether or not I declare the function at line 35 as bool or boolean I always get the same compiled size.
What is wrong with the compiler?

First, even though it does work, returning 1/0 is not correct.  A bool is either true or false.

You get the same size code because bool and boolean are both one byte and 1/0 is essentially interchangeable with true/false.

[Reply #10 on:]

That is, increasing a variable you use from a byte to an int isn't going to increase the sketch size by a single byte.

Changing a "byte" (unsigned eight bit) to an "int" (signed sixteen bit) may make quite a large difference to the size of your sketch, but changing it for a more similar type, such as "unsigned int" may make no difference at all.