Table C.1 – Architectural limits

Quantity

Limit

Description

integer

2,147,483,647

Largest integer value; equal to 2 31 1.

-2,147,483,648

Smallest integer value; equal to 2 31 .

real

3.403 10 38

Largest and smallest real values (approximate).

1.175 10 -38

Nonzero real values closest to 0 (approximate). Values closer than these are automatically converted to 0.

5

Number of significant decimal digits of precision in fractional part (approximate).

string (in content stream)

32,767

Maximum length of a string, in bytes.

This restriction applies only to strings in content streams. There is no effective restriction on other strings in PDF files.

name

127

Maximum length of a name, in bytes.

indirect object

8,388,607

Maximum number of indirect objects in a PDF file.

q/Q nesting

28

NOTE Maximum depth of graphics state nesting by q and Q operators. This is not a limit as such, but arises from the fact that q and Q are implemented by the PostScript gsave and grestore operators when generating PostScript output.

DeviceN components

32

Maximum number of colorants or tint components in a DeviceNcolour space.

CID

65,535

Maximum value of a CID (character identifier).