Setting an int to Infinity in C++

int is inherently finite; there's no value that satisfies your requirements.

If you're willing to change the type of b, though, you can do this with operator overrides:

class infinitytype {};

template<typename T>
bool operator>(const T &, const infinitytype &) {
  return false;
}

template<typename T>
bool operator<(const T &, const infinitytype &) {
  return true;
}

bool operator<(const infinitytype &, const infinitytype &) {
  return false;
}


bool operator>(const infinitytype &, const infinitytype &) {
  return false;
}

// add operator==, operator!=, operator>=, operator<=...

int main() {
  std::cout << ( INT_MAX < infinitytype() ); // true
}

Integers are finite, so sadly you can't have set it to a true infinity. However you can set it to the max value of an int, this would mean that it would be greater or equal to any other int, ie:

a>=b

is always true.

You would do this by

#include <limits>

//your code here

int a = std::numeric_limits<int>::max();

//go off and lead a happy and productive life

This will normally be equal to 2,147,483,647

If you really need a true "infinite" value, you would have to use a double or a float. Then you can simply do this

float a = std::numeric_limits<float>::infinity();

Additional explanations of numeric limits can be found here

Happy Coding!

Note: As WTP mentioned, if it is absolutely necessary to have an int that is "infinite" you would have to write a wrapper class for an int and overload the comparison operators, though this is probably not necessary for most projects.

Integers are inherently finite. The closest you can get is by setting a to int's maximum value:

#include <limits>

// ...

int a = std::numeric_limits<int>::max();

Which would be 2^31 - 1 (or 2 147 483 647) if int is 32 bits wide on your implementation.

If you really need infinity, use a floating point number type, like float or double. You can then get infinity with:

double a = std::numeric_limits<double>::infinity();