A "char" (short for character) is a data type used in programming to represent a single textual symbol. It can include letters, digits, punctuation marks, and other symbols. In many programming languages, a char is typically stored as a numeric value based on a character encoding system, such as ASCII or Unicode, which allows computers to understand and manipulate text. In most programming languages, a char is defined using single quotes, like 'A' or '3'. It is often used in string manipulation, where strings are sequences of characters. Understanding how to work with chars is essential for tasks involving text processing and data representation in software development.