Everyone and their grandmother knows that “Gangnam Style” is the most viewed video in YouTube history. What no one’s really known, until now, is how many views of the video YouTube could actually handle.
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The answer, as it turns out, is 2 147 483 647. Once the video went past that number, it broke YouTube’s stat counter. The reason for that is because YouTube’s conventional stats counter relies on 32-bit intergers, meaning that it simply couldn’t express a larger number of views.
Here’s YouTube’s explanation:
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In computing, an integer represents a defined subset of numbers. The 32-bit integer YouTube was using in its stats counter for instance, could deal with numbers from −2 147 483 648 to 2 147 483 647. The slightly heftier 64-bit integer system it’s now had to apply to “Gangnam Style” meanwhile can handle numbers between −9 223 372 036 854 775 808 to 9 223 372 036 854 775 807.
Unless the internet bands together to deliberately break the new stats counter, we’re guessing that things will be okay for a while.
