Bits, Bytes, Bitwise and Shift Operations

<< Java Tutorials - Herong's Tutorial Notes

This chapter provides tutorial notes and tutorial examples on bits, bytes and bitwise operations. Topics include bits and bytes as storage units; 'byte' data type and (byte) casting; bitwise operations; shift operations.

What Are Bits and Bytes

"byte" Data Type and Implicit Casting

Operations on "byte" Data Type Values

Bitwise Operations on "byte" Values

Bitwise Operations on "byte" Values - Example Program

Shift Operations - Left, Right or Unsigned Right Shift

Conclusion:

• Bit is the smallest storage unit that can only store two possible values: 0 and 1.
• Byte is a storage unit that holds 8 bits.
• "byte" is a primitive data type in Java. A "byte" variable can hold an integer in the range of -128 to 127.
• To assign values to "byte" variables, you need to cast original values to "byte" data type implicitly or explicitly (using "(byte)").
• "byte" variables can participate any arithmetic and comparison operations. But their values will be converted to "int" data type before the operation.
• Bitwise operations are defined for "int" data type, not for "byte".
• Shift operations are defined for "int" data type, not for "byte".