Byte
Byte
Example
procedure SetMarker(var Marker: Byte);
begin
Marker := $7F;
end;
Usage
Byte stores one unsigned 8-bit integer from 0 through 255 for binary values and narrow API fields.
Additional Technical Info
Byte is PascalScript base type btU8: one unsigned 8-bit value in the inclusive range 0..255.
Use Byte for binary octets, compact numeric flags and API declarations that specifically require eight unsigned bits. It is not a text character. Char is separately registered as an 8-bit character type, while String is Unicode.
Validate an Integer/Variant before assigning it to Byte. Values below zero or above 255 are outside the contract; do not rely on build/runtime range-check settings to decide whether they wrap, narrow or raise.
When a byte is rendered as text, choose decimal, hexadecimal or an encoding explicitly. A byte value is not automatically UTF-8/ANSI text, and arbitrary bytes can contain zero or invalid character sequences.
Byte arrays are appropriate for raw payloads; a String buffer in the Stream adapter is an untyped compatibility surface, not a safer replacement.
The example is source-reviewed only; no value was assigned at runtime.
External references
- Embarcadero integer types - Delphi Byte width and range.
- Free Pascal integer types - compatible ordinal range reference.