How many bits are there in a byte?

A byte is universally defined as consisting of 8 bits. This standardization dates back to early computing and has been maintained throughout the development of digital technology. Each bit represents a binary digit, which can be either 0 or 1. Therefore, when you combine 8 bits, you can represent 256 different values (from 00000000 to 11111111 in binary), which is essential in computing for creating characters, colors, and other data types. Understanding the relationship between bits and bytes is foundational in fields like computer science and information technology, as it affects data storage, memory allocation, and processing capabilities.