What is the maximum value for a byte data type?

The maximum value for a byte data type is 255. A byte consists of 8 bits, and with each bit being able to hold a value of either 0 or 1, the total number of combinations available for a byte is (2^8), which equals 256 possible values. These values range from 0 to 255 when treating the byte as an unsigned integer.

If considering signed bytes, the range is -128 to 127. However, the question specifically asks for the maximum value, which aligns with the unsigned interpretation, thus confirming that 255 is indeed the highest value a byte can represent.

The other values listed do not accurately reflect the maximum capacity of a byte: 127 is the maximum for a signed byte, 1024 surpasses the byte range, and 32,767 pertains to a signed short data type, which uses more bits than a single byte.