byte/short Vs int as for loop counter variable

Question

Is it a good practice to use byte/short as counter variable when we know the exact number of loops? for example

for (byte i = 1; i <= 26; i++)

vs

for (short i = 1; i <= 26; i++)

vs

 for (int i = 1; i <=26; i++)

Answer 1

Short answer: No.

Long answer: No, because CPU's are optimized for integer operations. If you work with bytes or shorts, the CPU constantly has to convert it to integers and back, generally by applying bitmasks.

Answer 2

When you perform some operations on short or byte variable you have to explicitly typecast it back to the required type in java. So it is preferred to use int in place of byte and short. Example :

short s = 0;
s= (short) (s+10);

If you do not typecast it to int it will throw compile time error : Type mismatch: cannot convert from int to short So it is preferred to use int.