For 32-bit version of Perl, the maximum integer (without using bigint or similar) that can be stored precisely is -253 on the negative side and 253 on the positive side. 

>perl -e"printf qq{%.f\n}, 2**53+$_ for +1,0,-1"
9007199254740992
9007199254740992
9007199254740991

>perl -e"printf qq{%.f\n}, -2**53+$_ for +1,0,-1"
-9007199254740991
-9007199254740992
-9007199254740992

[download]
build settingsMax positive integerMax negative integer
32-bit ints and double floats253 = 9_007_199_254_740_992-253 = -9_007_199_254_740_992
64-bit ints and double floats264-1 = 18_446_744_073_709_551_615-263 = 9_223_372_036_854_775_808
64-bit ints and quadruple floats2113 = 10_384_593_717_069_655_257_060_992_658_440_192-2113 = -10_384_593_717_069_655_257_060_992_658_440_192

Some operators (notably the bit operators) won't work with every number in that range.
Some C extensions won't work with every number in that range.

In reply to Re: maximum value of a scalar by ikegami
in thread maximum value of a scalar by targetsmart

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