> but char doesn't have to be 1 byte in size It is, but not required to be an octect. Quoting from the standard (n1570, 3.6): byte ==== addressable unit of da

> but char doesn't have to be 1 byte in size It is, but not required to be an octect. Quoting from the standard (n1570, 3.6): byte ==== addressable unit of data storage large enough to hold any member of the basic character set of the execution environment Later in a comment (page 44 in pdf, note 49): A byte contains CHAR_BIT bits