Convert.ToSByte Method in C#

The Convert.ToSByte method in C# converts a specified value to an 8-bit signed integer (sbyte). The sbyte data type can store values from -128 to 127 and is useful when you need to work with small signed integers while conserving memory.

Syntax

The Convert.ToSByte method has several overloads to handle different data types −

Convert.ToSByte(value)
Convert.ToSByte(value, IFormatProvider)
Convert.ToSByte(value, fromBase)

Parameters

• value − The value to be converted to sbyte. Can be of various types including bool, char, decimal, double, float, int, string, etc.

• provider − An object that supplies culture-specific formatting information (optional).

• fromBase − The base of the number in value (2, 8, 10, or 16) when converting from string.

Return Value

Returns an sbyte equivalent of the specified value. Floating-point values are rounded to the nearest integer using banker's rounding.

Converting Double to SByte

Example

using System;

public class Demo {
    public static void Main() {
        double doubleNum = -19.9;
        sbyte res = Convert.ToSByte(doubleNum);
        Console.WriteLine("Converted {0} to {1}", doubleNum, res);
        
        double positiveNum = 45.7;
        sbyte res2 = Convert.ToSByte(positiveNum);
        Console.WriteLine("Converted {0} to {1}", positiveNum, res2);
    }
}

The output of the above code is −

Converted -19.9 to -20
Converted 45.7 to 46

Converting Different Data Types

Example

using System;

public class Demo {
    public static void Main() {
        // Converting string to sbyte
        string str = "100";
        sbyte fromString = Convert.ToSByte(str);
        Console.WriteLine("String '{0}' to SByte: {1}", str, fromString);
        
        // Converting boolean to sbyte
        bool flag = true;
        sbyte fromBool = Convert.ToSByte(flag);
        Console.WriteLine("Boolean {0} to SByte: {1}", flag, fromBool);
        
        // Converting char to sbyte
        char ch = 'A';
        sbyte fromChar = Convert.ToSByte(ch);
        Console.WriteLine("Char '{0}' to SByte: {1}", ch, fromChar);
    }
}

The output of the above code is −

String '100' to SByte: 100
Boolean True to SByte: 1
Char 'A' to SByte: 65

Handling Overflow Exceptions

When the value is outside the range of sbyte (-128 to 127), an OverflowException is thrown −

Example

using System;

public class Demo {
    public static void Main() {
        try {
            int largeValue = 200;
            sbyte result = Convert.ToSByte(largeValue);
            Console.WriteLine("Converted {0} to {1}", largeValue, result);
        }
        catch (OverflowException ex) {
            Console.WriteLine("OverflowException: {0}", ex.Message);
        }
        
        // Valid conversion within range
        int validValue = -100;
        sbyte validResult = Convert.ToSByte(validValue);
        Console.WriteLine("Converted {0} to {1}", validValue, validResult);
    }
}

The output of the above code is −

OverflowException: Value was either too large or too small for a signed byte.
Converted -100 to -100

Conclusion

The Convert.ToSByte method provides a convenient way to convert various data types to sbyte with automatic rounding for floating-point values. Always handle potential OverflowException when converting values that might exceed the -128 to 127 range.