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Convert String to Byte Array in C#

C# | Converting string to byte array: Here, we are going to learn how to convert a given string to its equivalent byte[]? By IncludeHelp Last updated : April 11, 2023

Prerequisite: How to declare and use byte[] in C#?

String to Byte Array Conversion in C#

In C#, it is possible that a string can be converted to a byte array by using Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes() method, it accepts a string as a parameter and returns a byte array.

Note: In C#, the string contains two bytes per character; the method converts it into 1 byte. Still, sometimes it is possible to lose the data.

Syntax to Convert String to Byte Array

Method Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes() contains various overloaded methods, here we are using the following method type...

byte[] Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(String_Object);

C# Example to Convert String to Byte Array

This example contains a constant string and converting it to byte[]

using System;
using System.Text;

namespace Test {
  class Program {
    static void Main(string[] args) {
      string str = "Hello World! I am IncludeHelp@123.";

      //reading all characters as byte and 
      //storing them to byte[]
      byte[] barr = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(str);

      //printing characters with byte values
      for (int loop = 0; loop < barr.Length - 1; loop++) {
        Console.WriteLine("Byte of char \'" + str[loop] + "\' : " + barr[loop]);
      }

      //hit ENTER to exit
      Console.ReadLine();
    }
  }
}

Output

Byte of char 'H' : 72
Byte of char 'e' : 101
Byte of char 'l' : 108
Byte of char 'l' : 108
Byte of char 'o' : 111
Byte of char ' ' : 32
Byte of char 'W' : 87
Byte of char 'o' : 111
Byte of char 'r' : 114
Byte of char 'l' : 108
Byte of char 'd' : 100
Byte of char '!' : 33
Byte of char ' ' : 32
Byte of char 'I' : 73
Byte of char ' ' : 32
Byte of char 'a' : 97
Byte of char 'm' : 109
Byte of char ' ' : 32
Byte of char 'I' : 73
Byte of char 'n' : 110
Byte of char 'c' : 99
Byte of char 'l' : 108
Byte of char 'u' : 117
Byte of char 'd' : 100
Byte of char 'e' : 101
Byte of char 'H' : 72
Byte of char 'e' : 101
Byte of char 'l' : 108
Byte of char 'p' : 112
Byte of char '@' : 64
Byte of char '1' : 49
Byte of char '2' : 50
Byte of char '3' : 51

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