How many bits are in a byte?

A byte is defined as a unit of digital information that consists of 8 bits. This size has become the standard for representing a character of data in computer systems, such as a single letter, numeral, or symbol.

The significance of the byte as 8 bits is critical in digital electronics and computing, as it aligns with the base-2 binary system that computers use. Each bit can be in one of two states (0 or 1), so a byte, with its 8 bits, can represent 256 different values (from 00000000 to 11111111 in binary).

Understanding that a byte equals 8 bits helps grasp more complex data structures and types used in programming and digital systems, such as kilobytes, megabytes, and beyond, where each increment typically comprises multiples of bytes.