A long bigger than Long.MAX_VALUE

In Java, the long data type is a 64-bit signed integer, which means it has a maximum value of Long.MAX_VALUE = 9,223,372,036,854,775,807. If you try to store a number larger than this, it will cause overflow, resulting in incorrect values. So what do you do when you need to handle numbers bigger than Long.MAX_VALUE?

That’s where the BigInteger class comes in. Part of the java.math package, BigInteger allows you to work with arbitrarily large integers without worrying about overflow or precision loss. Unlike long, it isn’t limited to 64 bits—it can grow as large as your memory allows.

Here are some key points:

Declaration: You create a BigInteger object instead of using primitive types.

 import java.math.BigInteger;

BigInteger bigNum = new BigInteger("9223372036854775808"); // greater than Long.MAX_VALUE

• Mathematical operations: Since you can’t use +, -, *, or / directly, BigInteger provides methods like .add(), .subtract(), .multiply(), and .divide().
  
• No overflow: It can handle extremely large values reliably.
  
• Performance trade-off: Operations with BigInteger are slower compared to primitive types because they require more memory and computation.
  

Example:

BigInteger a = new BigInteger("9223372036854775808");

BigInteger b = new BigInteger("1000");

BigInteger result = a.add(b);

System.out.println(result); // 9223372036854776808

In summary: If your number exceeds Long.MAX_VALUE, always use BigInteger. It gives you unlimited range and precision, making it perfect for financial calculations, cryptography, or any domain requiring very large numbers.