3byte

3byte is a term used in computing to describe a data unit consisting of three bytes, or 24 bits. It is not a formal data type in most programming languages, but it is used informally to refer to fields, values, or storage that occupy 24 bits. The concept appears in areas where a 24-bit width is practical, such as color data, audio sample formats, and some compact binary protocols.

In color representation, 24-bit color is common and is often described as true color. It uses three 8-bit components for red, green, and blue, totaling 24 bits (3 bytes) per pixel. This packing is standard in many image formats and graphics pipelines, though some systems use alternative color depths or include an alpha channel for a total of 32 bits.

In audio, 24-bit PCM (pulse-code modulation) samples can be stored as 3 bytes per sample per channel. This provides higher dynamic range than 16-bit audio and is used in professional audio recording and high-fidelity playback, at the cost of larger file sizes and bandwidth.

Storage and software implications: some historical or specialized hardware and protocols employ 24-bit fields or 3-byte integers to save space. Modern software typically uses 32-bit or wider integers, with 24-bit values packed into 3-byte arrays or extracted from larger containers. Endianness affects how 3-byte values are serialized, with little-endian placing the least significant byte first and big-endian placing it last.

See also: 24-bit color, RGB, 24-bit PCM, endianness, packed binary data.