Char - Definition and Overview

Char has several meanings, depending on context:

• Charring is the process of incomplete combustion of a substance (usually carbohydrates, such as wood or biomass), and char is the remains of charring (usually carbon, such as coal or charcoal). In charring of wood or bread, water is stripped off the carbohydrates, leaving carbon.

• Char also describes material used to help ignite a flint and steel fire.

• In computer science, char is a data type in the C programming language. It is commonly 8-bit in size, when it is so, it conveniently stores character data using the ASCII encoding, but can also be used to store small integer data. (see Character (computing))

• Char (or charr) is also a kind of fish. (see Salmonidae)

• Char is also British slang for a servant, especially one who cleans and performs other duties like a maid. (See Hilda Ogden)

• Char can also be short for character, as in cartoon or game character.