Convert string to 4 byte array

Question

Is it possible?

I am trying to conver a string to a 4byte array.

I saw a way of doing so with integer:

int i =55555;
ByteBuffer.allocate(4).putInt(i).array();

Cant find a way with String.

"Is it possible?" In general no. Only short strings can be represented in 4 bytes. It depends on the character set and on the encoding which strings can be represented. — Henry
– Henry, Commented Oct 1, 2013 at 8:55
By "converting a string to a four byte array", are you talking about something along the lines of taking the first four ASCII characters (or two Unicode characters) and converting them to their byte counterparts? — BambooleanLogic
– BambooleanLogic, Commented Oct 1, 2013 at 8:55

Scary Wombat · Accepted Answer · 2013-10-01 08:54:56Z

4

Whats wrong with "5555".getBytes();

or if you only want the first 4 bytes

"5555555".substring(0, 4).getBytes();

answered Oct 1, 2013 at 8:54

Scary Wombat

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3 Comments

Depends on how you want your bits representation using ByteBuffer is more appropriate for this task

Substring gets the first 4 chars (in whatever encoding), not bytes. Like this you could as well end up with 8 bytes.

Since this uses the default platform encoding, it will not always deliver 4 bytes