title: Representing char as a byte in Java
body: <p>I must convert a char into a byte or a byte array.  In other languages I know that a char is just a single byte.  However, looking at the Java Character class, its min value is \u0000 and its max value is \uFFFF.  This makes it seem like a char is 2 bytes long.  </p>
  
  <p>Will I be able to store it as a byte or do I need to store it as two bytes?</p>
  
  <p>Before anyone asks, I will say that I'm trying to do this because I'm working under an interface that expects my results to be a byte array.  So I have to convert my char to one.  </p>
  
  <p>Please let me know and help me understand this.</p>
  
  <p>Thanks,
  jbu</p>