title: Embedded C: what does var = 0xFF; do?
body: <p>I'm working with embedded C for the first time. Although my C is rusty, I can read the code but I don't really have a grasp on why certain lines are the way the are. For example, I want to know if a variable is true or false and send it back to another application. Rather than setting the variable to 1 or 0, the original implementor chose 0xFF.</p>
  
  <p>Is he trying to set it to an address space? or else why set a boolean variable to be 255?</p>