Can uint64 to int64 conversion be done without data loss using an encoder and decoder?

Conversion of uint64 to int64 Without Data Loss

Problem:

Converting a uint64 value to an int64 directly, as seen in the provided code, may result in a loss of information and negative values, as uint64 and int64 have different value ranges.

Question:

Is it necessary to use an encoder and decoder for lossless conversion between uint64 and int64?

Answer:

No, direct conversion is adequate in this case.

Rationale:

The direct conversion from uint64 to int64 does not truncate any bits, resulting in the preservation of all information. Despite the potential for negative values in int64, the conversion maintains the statistical properties of the original unsigned integer.

Example:

To illustrate the behavior, consider the following example:

var x uint64 = 18446744073709551615 - 3
var y int64 = int64(x)

The binary representation of x is:

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111100

As can be seen, the leading '1' bit represents the sign bit in y, which is negative. However, the remaining '1'-bit pattern matches the binary representation of x, resulting in y having the value of -4, which is consistent with the original unsigned value.

Therefore, the provided code successfully converts a uint64 value to an int64 without loss of information, maintaining the statistical properties of the original unsigned integer.

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