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long Data Type in Java: Definition and Usage Explained

Rumman Ansari April 14, 2025 11,762 views

long Data Type in Java

When we need big range of numbers then we need this data type.The range of a long is quite large. long is a signed 64-bit type and is useful for those occasions where an int type is not large enough to hold the desired value.

Long data type is a 64-bit signed two's complement integer
Minimum value is -9,223,372,036,854,775,808(-2^63)
Maximum value is 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 (inclusive)(2^63 -1)
This type is used when a wider range than int is needed
Default value is 0L
Example:
```
long a = 100000L, long b = -200000L
```

Data Type	Size(bit)	Range
short	64	–9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to 9,223,372,036,854,775,807

long Variable Declaration and Variable Initialization:

Variable Declaration : To declare a variable , you must specify the data type & give the variable a unique name.

long distance;

Variable Initialization : To initialize a variable you must assign it a valid value.

distance= 12121 ;

long Variable Declaration and Variable Initialization in two steps:

long distance;
long = 12121;

Example :

Save Source File Name as : LongExample1.java
To compile : javac LongExample1.java
To Run : java LongExample1

// A Java program to demonstrate long data type
class LongExample1 {
   public static void main(String args[])
     {
           long distance;
           distance = 12121;
           System.out.println(distance);
     }
  }

Output

12121
 press any key to continue ...

int Variable Declaration and Variable Initialization in one line:

long distance = 12121;

Example :

Save Source File Name as : LongExample2.java
To compile : javac LongExample2.java
To Run : java LongExample2

// A Java program to demonstrate long data type
class LongExample2 {
   public static void main(String args[])
     {
           long distance = 12121;
           System.out.println(distance);
     }
  }

Output

12121
press any key to continue ...

Example of short

public class LongDataType {

   public static void main(String []args) {
      // this is declaration and initialization of variable a
	  // datatype is long
	  long a = 100000L;
	  // this is declaration and initialization of variable b
	  // datatype is long
       long b = -200000L;
      System.out.println(a); // it will print a variable
      System.out.println(b); // it will print b variable
   }
}

Output :

100000
-200000
Press any key to continue . . .

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long Data Type in Java: Definition and Usage Explained