Proper integer type selection is a poorly understood topic which has lead to the standardization of problematic interfaces in C++, poorly designed safety requirements, and confusion amongst developers. This talk will help you determine which integer types to select, when to select them, and why. This presentation will cover such topics as signed versus unsigned integers and the use and misuse of exact width integers. We will discuss safety and security concerns associated with incorrect integer type selection.
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Robert C. Seacord (born June 5, 1963) is the Standardization Lead at Woven, working with Toyota and its suppliers on quality software development. He is the author of books on C, C++, Java, computer security, legacy system modernization, and component-based software engineering.
Seacord began programming professionally for IBM in 1984, working in processor development, then communications and operating system software, and software engineering. He led the Secure Coding Initiative in the CERT Division of Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania until 1991, working on the User Interface Project. He also has worked at the X Consortium in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he developed and maintained code for the Common Desktop Environment and the X Window System. He returned to SEI in 1996, working on component-based software engineering and joined CERT in 2003. He left CERT and the SEI and joined NCC Group in 2015, as a Technical Director.
Seacord was an adjunct professor in the Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science and in the Information Networking Institute. He was also a part-time faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh. Seacord is on the Advisory Board for the Linux Foundation and a technical expert for the ISO/IECJTC 1/SC22/WG14 and ISO/IECJTC 1/SC22/WG21 international standardization working group for the C and C++ programming languages.