ByteDatenTyp

ByteDatenTyp is a term used in German-language computing to denote a data type that represents a single byte of data. It refers to an eight‑bit storage unit used to hold binary values, such as raw data from files or network streams. A ByteDatenTyp value encodes one octet and serves as the fundamental unit for binary I/O and low‑level data manipulation.

Technically, a ByteDatenTyp is 8 bits in size. The value range depends on how the language treats signedness: unsigned byte typically stores 0 to 255, while some languages provide a signed byte with −128 to 127. Consequently, the same bit pattern may be interpreted differently across languages.

Common usage includes constructing byte arrays or buffers, reading and writing binary files, parsing protocol fields, and representing characters at the byte level in encodings such as ASCII or UTF‑8 when viewed as octets.

Language variants illustrate differing naming conventions. In C, a byte is often unsigned char or uint8_t; in Java, the byte type is signed; in C#, byte is unsigned; in Rust, the types are u8 and i8. The concept is language‑neutral, but implementation details matter for range and sign.

Endianness is irrelevant for a single byte, but it matters when multiple bytes form larger values. ByteDatenTyp remains the basic unit used to build more complex data structures.

See also: Byte, Octet, Data type, Binary data.