KoldCoffee (3/2/2014)
I don't know why they did that in Books Online except, maybe, that it's easier to remember than 2147483647, which is the maximum postive number that an INT can contain.
by which algorithm (trying to sound smart with that word) does 0x7fffffff convert to 2147483647? :unsure:
It's not an algorithm. It's a simple Hex number once you remove the "0x" hex indicator. From right to left, each character represents a power of 16 (starting at 0) just like each character in a decimal number represents a power of 10.
To be sure about the right most character position is most whole numbering systems, any "base" value (16 for hex, 10 for decimal) raised to the 0 power is "1". That's why (for example), 5 hex = 5 dec.
An over simplified but effective primer on the subject can be found at the following URL (scroll down and hit the "Next" button on the screen):
http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=DIG1102
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.