Bits and Bytes

• Smallest directly accessible datum is the byte
• Byte = 8 bits
• Byte range of values:
• 00000000 … 11111111 (base 2 binary)
• 000 … 377 (base 8 octal)
• 0 … 255 (base 10 decimal)
• 00 … FF (base 16 hexadecimal)
• Byte also size of ascii char
• C and C++ provide access to individual bits via bit operations
• Use these bit operations to manipulate individual bits
• C++, but not C, provides a way to descend to the bit level inside a class implementation while remaining at a more abstract level for applications: the class