int_cast -------- C and C++ forces you to be very careful when dealing with mixed typed integers to ensure the correctness of computations and comparisons. This cast allows you to safely cast a value from one integer type to another. It handles all the error checking that one needs perform during the conversion to ensure no information is lost. If the type cast cannot be performed without losing information then an error is thrown. The best way to deal with mismatched integer types in your code is to simply limit the your integers to a single type like "int". This is works well with code you write, but there are many APIs and language constructs that insist on using "size_t". This cast allows you to work with these external APIs and still maintain a high level of integer consistency in your code.