Accessing a specific bit

**Zewu** · 07-01-2002

I want to know if there's a way I can access a specific bit in a byte. Example, a byte looks like this: 00001001. What if I want to access 00001001, end test whether it's true or false.

I've tried using bit-shifting to the left, with the value of the bit's spot from the end-1, in this case: << 3, which results in 01001000. and then shifting >> 7, which results in that the specific bit is the only one left.

This doesn't work though, because the bits shifted away come back. The only explanation I can find to this is that they are passed over to the next byte. I tried this with int though, which is only one byte long, right?

Anyway, can I make this method work, or do it in an easier way?

**Zewu** · 07-01-2002

Awwwwww! How stupid of me! If an int would be a byte long, the maximum value would be 256! Anyway, the problem remains.

Unregistered · 07-01-2002

bit masking

**Fordy** · 07-01-2002

Try using the shift as you did, but '&' the value with 1 afterwards

IE

00011001 >> 3 = 00000011

Now mask it with 1

00000011 & 00000001 = 00000001

now if that == 1...the bit was set.

**Shiro** · 07-01-2002

Or map the variable onto a bitfield with pointer conversion. Or just use a union with a bitfield in it.

Code:

typedef union
{
    bitfield_t      my_bitfield;
    unsigned int    my_int;
} bits;

bits my_var;

// Assign the value
my_var.my_int = another_var;

// Access a single bit
my_bit = my_var.my_bitfield.bit_5;

**Govtcheez** · 07-01-2002

You could shift, and not even have to use a bit mask - if the resulting, shifted number is odd, then that bit was initally set...

**Zewu** · 07-02-2002

You could also replace "& 1" with "| 0", right?

**hk_mp5kpdw** · 07-02-2002

Bah... all this bit shifting and masking? Just mask the value using and, if the result is not zero then the bit was set, otherwise it was not set.

Code:

const int iBitOneMask =   0x00000001;
const int iBitTwoMask =   0x00000002;
const int iBitThreeMask = 0x00000004;
...
...
...
const int iBitSevenMask = 0x00000040;
const int iBitEightMask = 0x00000080;
...
...
...
bool bBitWasSet;
int iValue;
...
...
...
// Test if bit three of iValue was set.
if( iValue & iBitThreeMask ) bBitWasSet = true;
else bBitWasSet = false;
...
...
...
// Test if bit eight of iValue was set.
if( iValue & iBitEightMask ) bBitWasSet = true;
else bBitWasSet = false;

Wouldn't that work? No bit shifting needed.

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