4byte

4-byte refers to data that occupies four bytes (32 bits) in storage. A 4-byte value is any quantity that requires four bytes in memory, such as 32-bit integers and 32-bit floating-point numbers. This size has historically been common in 32-bit systems and remains prevalent for fixed-width data in many software interfaces, file formats, and network protocols.

Common uses include fixed-width fields in binary formats, memory alignment, and data interchange. For example, IPv4 addresses consist of four bytes. 4-byte integers are widely used for counts, identifiers, and bitmasks, while 32-bit floating-point values follow the IEEE 754 standard for single precision.

Endianness—the order in which bytes are stored or transmitted—affects 4-byte values. In little-endian systems, the least-significant byte is stored first; in big-endian systems, the most-significant byte is stored first. Network protocols often adopt a canonical order (network byte order, typically big-endian), requiring byte-order conversion on little-endian hosts.

Language and platform support varies. In C and C++, fixed-width integer types such as int32_t and uint32_t guarantee a four-byte width on platforms that support them. Java defines int as four bytes. Many data formats and APIs rely on 4-byte fields for portability across architectures, though portable code should avoid assuming size and use explicit types.

As computing moves toward wider 64-bit data models, 4-byte values continue to be important for compatibility, interoperability, and efficient storage of fixed-width data. See also 32-bit architecture, endianness, and IPv4.