Convert unsigned byte to signed byte

Question

Is there an easy and elegant way to convert an unsigned byte value to a signed byte value in java? For example, if all I have is the int value 240 (in binary (24 bits + 11110000) = 32bits), how can I get the signed value for this int?

Answer 1

Java does not have unsigned values, except for char. Consider this snippet:

byte val = (byte)255;
System.out.println(String.valueOf(val));

The result will be -1, because the lowest 8 bits got copied over to the byte variable.