8 bits is called "byte". How is 16 bits called? "Short"? "Word"?
And what about 32 bits? I know "int" is CPU-dependent, I'm interested in universally applicable names.
A byte is the smallest unit of data that a computer can work with. The C language defines char to be one "byte" and has CHAR_BIT bits. On most systems this is 8 bits.
A word on the other hand, is usually the size of values typically handled by the CPU. Most of the time, this is the size of the general-purpose registers. The problem with this definition, is it doesn't age well.
For example, the MS Windows WORD datatype was defined back in the early days, when 16-bit CPUs were the norm. When 32-bit CPUs came around, the definition stayed, and a 32-bit integer became a DWORD. And now we have 64-bit QWORDs.
Far from "universal", but here are several different takes on the matter:
BYTE - 8 bits, unsignedWORD - 16 bits, unsignedDWORD - 32 bits, unsigned QWORD - 64 bits, unsignedGDB:
uint8_t - 8 bits, unsigneduint16_t - 16 bits, unsigneduint32_t - 32 bits, unsigneduint64_t - 64 bits, unsigneduintptr_t - pointer-sized integer, unsigned(Signed types exist as well.)
If you're trying to write portable code that relies upon the size of a particular data type (e.g. you're implementing a network protocol), always use <stdint.h>.