Which term describes an error where a calculation produces a result greater than the computer can deal with or store with the available number of bits?

Which term describes an error where a calculation produces a result greater than the computer can deal with or store with the available number of bits?

• A. Runtime error
• B. Round-off error
• C. Overflow error
• D. Logic error

Answer: (C)

Overflow occurs when a calculation yields a magnitude that cannot be represented with the fixed number of bits used to store the value. Computers keep numbers in a finite bit pattern, so if the true result is larger than the maximum (or smaller than the minimum) that can be stored, the value cannot be represented correctly. For integers, this often shows up as wraparound: in an 8-bit unsigned system, 255 plus 1 becomes 0; in a signed 8-bit system, 127 plus 1 can become -128. In floating-point, overflow means the result is larger than the largest finite number the format can hold, which usually yields infinity or triggers an overflow condition. This is distinct from round-off errors, which come from precision limits that cause small, approximate differences, and from runtime or logic errors, which are about bugs in the program rather than the limits of number representation.

Overflow occurs when a calculation yields a magnitude that cannot be represented with the fixed number of bits used to store the value. Computers keep numbers in a finite bit pattern, so if the true result is larger than the maximum (or smaller than the minimum) that can be stored, the value cannot be represented correctly. For integers, this often shows up as wraparound: in an 8-bit unsigned system, 255 plus 1 becomes 0; in a signed 8-bit system, 127 plus 1 can become -128. In floating-point, overflow means the result is larger than the largest finite number the format can hold, which usually yields infinity or triggers an overflow condition. This is distinct from round-off errors, which come from precision limits that cause small, approximate differences, and from runtime or logic errors, which are about bugs in the program rather than the limits of number representation.