Separate signed int into bytes in NXC - nxt

Question

Is there any way to convert a signed integer into an array of bytes in NXC? I can't use explicit type casting or pointers either, due to language limitations.
I've tried:
for(unsigned long i = 1; i <= 2; i++)
{
MM_mem[id.idx] = ((val & (0xFF << ((2 - i) * 8)))) >> ((2 - i) * 8));
id.idx++;
}
But it fails.
EDIT: This works... It just wasn't downloading. I've wasted about an hour trying to figure it out. >_>
EDIT: In NXC, >> is a arithmetic shift. int is a signed 16-bit integer type. A byte is the same thing as unsigned char.
NXC is 'Not eXactly C', a relative of C, but distinctly different from C.

Answer 1

How about
unsigned char b[4];
b[0] = (x & 0xFF000000) >> 24;
b[1] = (x & 0x00FF0000) >> 16;
b[2] = (x & 0x0000FF00) >> 8;
b[3] = x & 0xFF;

Answer 2

The best way to do this in NXC with the opcodes available in the underlying VM is to use FlattenVar to convert any type into a string (aka byte array with a null added at the end). It results in a single VM opcode operation where any of the above options which use shifts and logical ANDs and array operations will require dozens of lines of assembly language.
task main()
{
int x = Random(); // 16 bit random number - could be negative
string data;
data = FlattenVar(x); // convert type to byte array with trailing null
NumOut(0, LCD_LINE1, x);
for (int i=0; i < ArrayLen(data)-1; i++)
{
#ifdef __ENHANCED_FIRMWARE
TextOut(0, LCD_LINE2-8*i, FormatNum("0x%2.2x", data[i]));
#else
NumOut(0, LCD_LINE2-8*i, data[i]);
#endif
}
Wait(SEC_4);
}
The best way to get help with LEGO MINDSTORMS and the NXT and Not eXactly C is via the mindboards forums at http://forums.mindboards.net/

Answer 3

Question originally tagged c; this answer may not be applicable to Not eXactly C.
What is the problem with this:
int value;
char bytes[sizeof(int)];
bytes[0] = (value >> 0) & 0xFF;
bytes[1] = (value >> 8) & 0xFF;
bytes[2] = (value >> 16) & 0xFF;
bytes[3] = (value >> 24) & 0xFF;
You can regard it as an unrolled loop. The shift by zero could be omitted; the optimizer would certainly do so. Even though the result of right-shifting a negative value is not defined, there is no problem because this code only accesses the bits where the behaviour is defined.
This code gives the bytes in a little-endian order - the least-significant byte is in bytes[0]. Clearly, big-endian order is achieved by:
int value;
char bytes[sizeof(int)];
bytes[3] = (value >> 0) & 0xFF;
bytes[2] = (value >> 8) & 0xFF;
bytes[1] = (value >> 16) & 0xFF;
bytes[0] = (value >> 24) & 0xFF;