Is BYTE/char the same, right?
BYTE is actually the typedef of char?
Is BYTE/char the same, right?
BYTE is actually the typedef of char?
That's a good question. The size of any C++ object is a multiple of the size of a char, and a char is only guaranteed to have at least 8 bits. On the other hand, when Stroustrup refers to a byte he seems to be assuming it consists of exactly 8 bits, so I think the answer is no.
Last edited by robatino; 01-10-2007 at 03:44 PM.
> Is BYTE/char the same, right?
No. Even on those cases where BYTE may be defined as a typedef for char, BYTE is not a char. I understand I'm being pedantic. But it's an important concept to keep in mind that typedefs of this nature have a very specific purpose; to provide the coder with a new type context in which to create and use their objects.
In the presence of a statement the likes of "typedef BYTE char", BYTE is one type and char is another type. They may essentially map to the same built-in type. But they have a different meaning. I find this distinction important.
> BYTE is actually the typedef of char?
On some systems yes. On others no. Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byte for other potential bytes
Originally Posted by brewbuck:
Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.
Of course, if you're specifically talking about the BYTE typedef of the Win32 API ... the answer is still noThe WinAPI BYTE is a typedef for unsigned char.
All the buzzt!
CornedBee
"There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
- Flon's Law
The BYTE datatype is probably a typedef for unsigned char on your platform, but I don't think it would guaranteed to be (otherwise it wouldn't be useful).
A byte is always the same as a char in C++, but not necessarily 8 bits.
http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lit...sic-types.html
There is no type byte in standard C/C++. (You may have a library that typedefs it as a char.)
In general, they are not the same. A char is at least one byte. But, it does get confusing...
The definition of type char is clear - At least 8 bits (as required for the ASCII character set). On a 16 bit machine, it might be 16 bits. (On a 16 bit machine, every RAM location contains 16 bits.)
The definition of a byte is not so clear. In everyday technical jargon everybody knows that a byte is always 8 bits. However, the exact technical definition is apparently not so precise!
If I'm reading the it correctly, the language standard defines them similarly (they both can hold one character). But, they are defining the word / term byte, not a type-byte.
From the C Language Standard:
3.6
1 byte- addressable unit of data storage large enough to hold any member of the basic character set of the execution environment
2 NOTE 1 It is possible to express the address of each individual byte of an object uniquely.
3 NOTE 2 A byte is composed of a contiguous sequence of bits, the number of which is implementationdefined.
The least significant bit is called the low-order bit; the most significant bit is called the high-order
bit.6.2.5 Types
1…
2…
3 An object declared as type char is large enough to store any member of the basic
execution character set. If a member of the basic execution character set is stored in a
char object, its value is guaranteed to be positive. If any other character is stored in a
char object, the resulting value is implementation-defined but shall be within the range
of values that can be represented in that type.
According to the C++ FAQ, the word/term byte refers to the same number of bits that are used by the char type. In other words, if char is 9 bits, then char is one byte and a byte is 9 bits on that platform.
Of course it seems the original question is probably about the BYTE datatype in Windows.
