ee.Number.uint8

  • Number.uint8() casts a given Earth Engine Number to an unsigned 8-bit integer, resulting in a value within the range of 0 to 255.

  • Numbers exceeding the maximum value of 255 will be truncated to 255, and numbers below 0 will be truncated to 0 when cast to uint8.

  • Casting floating-point numbers to uint8 results in the loss of decimal precision, keeping only the integer part.

  • This function is useful for ensuring numerical values fit within the constraints of unsigned 8-bit data types often used in image processing and analysis.

 Casts the input value to an unsigned 8-bit integer.

UsageReturns
Number.uint8()Number
ArgumentTypeDetails
this: inputNumberThe input value.

Examples

Code Editor (JavaScript)

// Cast a number to unsigned 8-bit integer: [0, 255].
var number = ee.Number(100);
print('Number:', number);

var uint8Number = number.uint8();
print('Number cast to uint8:', uint8Number);


/**
 * Casting numbers to uint8 that are outside of its range and precision can
 * modify the resulting value, note the behavior of the following scenarios.
 */

// A floating point number cast to uint8 loses decimal precision.
var float = ee.Number(1.7);
print('Floating point value:', float);

var floatToUint8 = float.uint8();
print('Floating point value cast to uint8:', floatToUint8);

// A number greater than uint8 range max cast to uint8 becomes uint8 range max.
var UINT8_MAX = 255;
var outOfRangeHi = ee.Number(UINT8_MAX + 12345);
print('Greater than uint8 max:', outOfRangeHi);

var outOfRangeHiToUint8 = outOfRangeHi.uint8();
print('Greater than uint8 max cast to uint8 becomes uint8 max:', outOfRangeHiToUint8);

// A number greater than uint8 range min cast to uint8 becomes uint8 range min.
var UINT8_MIN = 0;
var outOfRangeLo = ee.Number(UINT8_MIN - 12345);
print('Less than uint8 min:', outOfRangeLo);

var outOfRangeLoToUint8 = outOfRangeLo.uint8();
print('Less than uint8 min cast to uint8 becomes uint8 min:', outOfRangeLoToUint8);

Python setup

See the Python Environment page for information on the Python API and using geemap for interactive development.

import ee
import geemap.core as geemap

Colab (Python)

# Cast a number to unsigned 8-bit integer: [0, 255].
number = ee.Number(100)
print('Number:', number.getInfo())

uint8_number = number.uint8()
print('Number cast to uint8:', uint8_number.getInfo())


"""Casting numbers to uint8 that are outside of its range and precision can
modify the resulting value, note the behavior of the following scenarios.
"""

# A floating point number cast to uint8 loses decimal precision.
float_number = ee.Number(1.7)
print('Floating point value:', float_number.getInfo())

float_to_uint8 = float_number.uint8()
print('Floating point value cast to uint8:', float_to_uint8.getInfo())

# A number greater than uint8 range max cast to uint8 becomes uint8 range max.
UINT8_MAX = 255
out_of_range_hi = ee.Number(UINT8_MAX + 12345)
print('Greater than uint8 max:', out_of_range_hi.getInfo())

out_of_range_hi_to_uint8 = out_of_range_hi.uint8()
print('Greater than uint8 max cast to uint8 becomes uint8 max:',
      out_of_range_hi_to_uint8.getInfo())

# A number greater than uint8 range min cast to uint8 becomes uint8 range min.
UINT8_MIN = 0
out_of_range_lo = ee.Number(UINT8_MIN - 12345)
print('Less than uint8 min:', out_of_range_lo.getInfo())

out_of_range_lo_to_uint8 = out_of_range_lo.uint8()
print('Less than uint8 min cast to uint8 becomes uint8 min:',
      out_of_range_lo_to_uint8.getInfo())