Re: The integral type 'byte' (was Re: Suggested method for returning a string from a C program?)

On 2025-03-25, David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> wrote:

Personally, I think "typedef uint8_t byte;" /is/ ideal - and much better
than "typedef unsigned char byte;" would be.  I say that as someone who
works in a field with bits and bytes more than ints and doubles.

The problem is that uint8_t is not endowed with the special
aliasing rules for accessing objects of other types as arrays
of unsigned char. A type called byte is prone to precipitating
into those uses.

A platform like Arduino could assert that in their toolchain,
the type byte does have those properties (and then somehow ensure
that is true, in spite of it being uint8_t, like by patching
the compiler if they have to).

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