Integer Integer An integer (from the Latin "integer" meaning "whole") is a number that can be written without a fractional component. For example, 21, 4, 0, and −2048 are integers, while 9.75, , and are not. The set of integers consists of zero (), the positive natural numbers (, , , …), also called "whole numbers" or "counting numbers", and their additive inverses (the negative integers, i.e., −1, −2, −3, …). The set of integers is often denoted by a boldface Z ("") or blackboard bold formula_1 (Unicode U+2124 ℤ) standing for the German word "Zahlen" (, "numbers"). The integers form
Integer complexity every prime number is one plus the complexity of . Integer complexity In number theory, the integer complexity of an integer is the smallest number of ones that can be used to represent it using ones and any number of additions, multiplications, and parentheses. It is always within a constant factor of the logarithm of the given integer. For instance, the number 11 may be represented using eight ones: However, it has no representation using seven or fewer ones. Therefore, its complexity is eight. The complexities of the numbers 1, 2, 3, ... are The smallest numbers with complexity 1,