Creating a byte from a binary string

Question

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How can I create a byte from a binary string?
An example of what I mean is:

C#

public static byte CreateByte(string bits)
{
    //The Magic
}

A better example:

C#

CreateByte("10000000");

Posted 13-Dec-13 19:26pm

IAmABadCoder

Updated 13-Dec-13 19:28pm

v4

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Comments

BillWoodruff 14-Dec-13 2:29am

A byte is an 8 bit unsigned integer: your string cannot be converted into a byte.

The .NET Convert.ToByte(string) function assumes the string parameter is the numeric representation of a byte: if you do:

byte b = Convert.ToByte("11");

The variable 'b now contains the bits: 00001011 ... i.e., equivalent to integer #11.

I think you want to convert a string containing the representation of the 8 bits in a byte, and I'll answer here based on that assumption.

3 solutions

Solution 3

Assuming that your data is in a form where each string of 8 characters contains only the characters '0' and '1' ... and that expresses the string representation of the 8 bits in a byte ...

C#

// use look-up rather than calling Math.Pow
List<int> Pow2 = new List<int> { 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 };

// notice the return value is a nullable byte Type
private byte? StringToByte(string byteString)
{
    // test for correct bit length
    if (byteString.Length != 8) return null;

    // test for invalid bit values
    foreach(char c in byteString) { if (c != '0' && c != '1') return null;}

    int byteResult = 0;

    for (int i = 0; i < byteString.Length; i++)
    {
        byteResult +=
            (byteString[i] == '0')
            ? 0
            : Pow2[i];
    }

    return Convert.ToByte(byteResult);
}

Testing:

C#

byte? byte1 = StringToByte("00000000");
byte? byte2 = StringToByte("00000001");
byte? byte3 = StringToByte("01000001");
byte? byte4 = StringToByte("10000000");
byte? byte5 = StringToByte("11111111");

// test for length error
byte? byte6 = StringToByte("1111111111");
byte? byte7 = StringToByte("111");

// test for invalid bit error
byte? byte8 = StringToByte("1311111111");
byte? byte9 = StringToByte("1311Y11111");

The use of the nullable Byte return Type essentially defers checking for an error to the code calling the method: if you'd rather throw an error in the method, then change the return Type, and change the code.

Posted 13-Dec-13 22:16pm

BillWoodruff

Solution 2

How about:

if ( string = "zero" ) return 0;
if ( string = "one" ) return 1;
if ( string = "two" ) return 2;
if ( string = "three" ) return 3;
if ( string = "four" ) return 4;
if ( string = "five" ) return 5;
...
... left as exercise for the reader
...
if ( string = "two hundred and fifty five" ) return 255;

or if you specify what the input string bits ought to contain and how it should be interpreted as a byte, then better answers might be provided.

Posted 13-Dec-13 19:32pm

NeverJustHere

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Rakesh Meel · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-13T19:32:00

Solution 1

visit here..

convert-a-binary-string-representation-to-a-byte-array[^]

Posted 13-Dec-13 19:32pm

Rakesh Meel