Editing Byte (section)

== Common uses ==
Many [[programming language]]s define the [[data type]] ''byte''.

The [[C (programming language)|C]] and [[C++]] programming languages define ''byte'' as an "addressable unit of data storage large enough to hold any member of the basic character set of the execution environment" (clause 3.6 of the C standard). The C standard requires that the integral data type ''[[signedness|unsigned]] char'' must hold at least 256 different values, and is represented by at least eight bits (clause 5.2.4.2.1). Various implementations of C and C++ reserve 8, 9, 16, 32, or 36 bits for the storage of a byte.<ref name="Cline_Bytes" /><ref name="Klein_2008" />{{efn|The actual number of bits in a particular implementation is documented as <code>CHAR_BIT</code> as implemented in the file [[limits.h]].}} In addition, the C and C++ standards require that there be no gaps between two bytes. This means every bit in memory is part of a byte.<ref name="Cline_FAQ" />

[[Java (programming language)|Java's]] primitive data type ''byte'' is defined as eight bits. It is a signed data type, holding values from −128 to 127.

[[.NET]] programming languages, such as [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]], define ''byte'' as an unsigned type, and the ''sbyte'' as a signed data type, holding values from 0 to 255, and [[two's complement|−128 to 127]], respectively.

In data transmission systems, the byte is used as a contiguous sequence of bits in a serial data stream, representing the smallest distinguished unit of data. For [[asynchronous communication]] a full transmission unit usually additionally includes a start bit, 1 or 2 stop bits, and possibly a [[parity bit]], and thus its size may vary from seven to twelve bits for five to eight bits of actual data.<ref name="NWU" /> For [[synchronous communication]] the error checking usually uses bytes at the end of a [[Frame (networking)|frame]].