count total bits in a number

To count the total number of bits in a number in the C programming language, you can use bitwise operations. Here's an example code snippet that demonstrates how to count the bits in a number:

#include <stdio.h>

int countBits(int num) {
    int count = 0;
    while (num != 0) {
        count++;
        num = num >> 1;
    }
    return count;
}

int main() {
    int number = 12345;
    int bitCount = countBits(number);
    printf("The number of bits in %d is %d\n", number, bitCount);
    return 0;
}

Let's break down the code and explain each step:

1. The countBits function takes an integer num as input and returns the count of bits in that number.
2. Inside the function, we initialize a variable count to 0. This variable will keep track of the number of bits.
3. We enter a while loop that continues until num becomes 0.
4. Inside the loop, we increment the count variable by 1.
5. We right-shift num by 1 bit using the >> operator. This operation effectively divides num by 2.
6. The loop continues until num becomes 0, and each iteration counts one bit.
7. Finally, the function returns the total count of bits.
8. In the main function, we declare a variable number and assign it a value (in this case, 12345).
9. We call the countBits function, passing number as an argument, and store the result in the bitCount variable.
10. We use printf to display the original number and the count of bits.

When you run this code, it will output: "The number of bits in 12345 is 14" because the binary representation of 12345 is 11000000111001, which has 14 bits.

I hope this explanation helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.