How to Convert Int to Unsigned Byte and Back

A byte is always signed in Java. You may get its unsigned value by binary-anding it with 0xFF, though:

int i = 234;byte b = (byte) i;System.out.println(b); // -22int i2 = b & 0xFF;System.out.println(i2); // 234

Java 8 provides Byte.toUnsignedInt to convert byte to int by unsigned conversion. In Oracle's JDK this is simply implemented as return ((int) x) & 0xff; because HotSpot already understands how to optimize this pattern, but it could be intrinsified on other VMs. More importantly, no prior knowledge is needed to understand what a call to toUnsignedInt(foo) does.

In total, Java 8 provides methods to convert byte and short to unsigned int and long, and int to unsigned long. A method to convert byte to unsigned short was deliberately omitted because the JVM only provides arithmetic on int and long anyway.

To convert an int back to a byte, just use a cast: (byte)someInt. The resulting narrowing primitive conversion will discard all but the last 8 bits.

If you just need to convert an expected 8-bit value from a signed int to an unsigned value, you can use simple bit shifting:

int signed = -119;  // 11111111 11111111 11111111 10001001/** * Use unsigned right shift operator to drop unset bits in positions 8-31 */int psuedoUnsigned = (signed << 24) >>> 24;  // 00000000 00000000 00000000 10001001 -> 137 base 10/**  * Convert back to signed by using the sign-extension properties of the right shift operator */int backToSigned = (psuedoUnsigned << 24) >> 24; // back to original bit pattern

http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/op3.html

If using something other than int as the base type, you'll obviously need to adjust the shift amount: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/datatypes.html

Also, bear in mind that you can't use byte type, doing so will result in a signed value as mentioned by other answerers. The smallest primitive type you could use to represent an 8-bit unsigned value would be a short.