Java Program to Convert Char to Byte

Given a char in Java, the task is to write a Java program that converts this char into Byte.

Examples:

Input: ch = 'A'
Output: 65

Input: ch = 'B'
Output 66

In Java, char is a primitive data type and it is used to declare characters. It has the capability to hold 16-bit unsigned Unicode characters. The range of a char can lie between 0 to 65,535 (inclusive). It holds a default value that is equal to ‘\u0000’. Also, the default size is 2. The syntax to declare and initialize a char variable is given below,

Syntax:

char ch1;  // Declaration 
char ch2 = 'G';  // Initialization

In Java, a byte is also a primitive data type and it is used for declaring variables. It contains the capacity to hold an 8-bit signed integer. A byte can range from -128 to 127 (inclusive). It is used to optimize memory in our systems.

This article focuses on converting a char value into an equivalent byte value.

byte by; // Declaration 
byte by = 12; // Initialization

Method 1: Explicit type-casting

We can typecast the char variable into its equivalent Byte value by using explicit type-casting. The syntax is quite simple and given below:

Syntax:

byte by = (byte) ch;

Here, ch is the char variable to be converted into Byte. It tells the compiler to convert the char into its byte equivalent value.

Example: In this program, we have typecasted the char variable ch to a byte. 

Java

// Java program to convert char into byte

import java.io.*;

class GFG {
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {

        char ch = 'G';

           // Using explicit type casting
        byte by = (byte) ch ;

          // Print the byte variable
           System.out.println(by);
    }
}

Output

71

Method 2:

Steps:

• Declare a byte array.
• Iterate over the values of the char array.
• During each step of the iteration, convert the current value in the char array using explicit typecasting and then insert it into the byte array.

Example: In this program, we have typecasted the char array ch to the equivalent byte array. 

Java

// Java program to convert a char array into byte array

import java.io.*;

class GFG {
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {

          // Initializing a char array
        char[] ch = {'G', 'e', 'e', 'k', 's', 'f','o','r','G','e','e', 'k', 's'};

          // Declaring a byte array
          byte[] by = new byte[ch.length];

          // Iterating over the char array
        for (int i = 0; i < ch.length; i++) {

              // Converting each char into its byte equivalent
            by[i] = (byte)ch[i];
        }

          // Printing array elements
           for(int i = 0 ; i < by.length ; i++)
        {
            System.out.println(by[i]);
        }
    }
}

Output

71
101
101
107
115
102
111
114
71
101
101
107
115