What is the highest decimal value you can have for one byte?

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A byte is a fundamental unit of digital data that consists of 8 bits. Each bit can have a value of either 0 or 1, which gives us a total of 28 = 256 unique combinations of bits. The values that can be represented range from 0 to 255.

This means the highest decimal value you can achieve with a single byte is 255. To understand why, consider the binary representation: the maximum configuration of bits in a byte is 11111111, which equals 255 in decimal form.

Here’s a breakdown of the calculation:

  • The binary number 11111111 can be expanded as follows:
  • 1 x 27 + 1 x 26 + 1 x 25 + 1 x 24 + 1 x 23 + 1 x 22 + 1 x 21 + 1 x 20
  • This equals:
    • 128 + 64 + 32 + 16 + 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 255

Thus, the maximum decimal value for one byte is 255.

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