(See Eric’s answer for more detailed explanation)
Notes:
- Generally,
int
is set to the ‘natural size’ – the integer form that the hardware handles most efficiently - When using
short
in an array or in arithmetic operations, theshort
integer is converted intoint
, and so this can introduce a hit on the speed in processingshort
integers - Using
short
can conserve memory if it is narrower thanint
, which can be important when using a large array - Your program will use more memory in a 32-bit
int
system compared to a 16-bitint
system
Conclusion:
- Use
int
unless you conserving memory is critical, or your program uses a lot of memory (e.g. many arrays). In that case, useshort
.