Definition of Bit field

A bit field is a common idiom used in computer programming to store a set of Boolean datatype flags compactly, as a series of bits. The bit field is stored in an integral type of known, fixed bit-width. Each Boolean flag is stored in a separate bit. Usually the source code will define a set of constants, each a power of two, that semantically associate each individual bit with its respective Boolean flag. The bitwise operators AND, OR, and NOT are used in combination to set, reset and test the flags.