Maybe this will help?

$integer = pack( 'i', 171 );; #The [pack] template 'i' converts a inte
+ger

print length( $integer );; # to a 4-byte string
4

# The first byte is ascii value 171
print ord( substr( $integer, $_, 1 ) ) for 0 .. 3;; 
171
0
0
0

print chr( 171 );; ## Which displays as '½'. (On windows console,code 
+pages 437 & 850).
½

print chr( 172 );; ## Which displays as '¼'. (On windows console, code
+ pages 437 & 850).
¼
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