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Binary
Computers work on the principle of number manipulation. Inside the computer, the numbers are represented in bits and bytes. For example, the number three is represented by a byte with bits 0 and 1 set; 00000011. This is numbering system using base 2. People commonly use a decimal or Base 10 numbering system. What this means is that in Base 10, count from 0 to 9 before adding another digit. The number 22 in Base 10 means we have 2 sets of 10's and 2 sets of 1's.
Base 2 is also known as binary since there can only be two values for a specific digit; either a 0 = OFF or a 1 = ON. You cannot have a number represented as 22 in binary notation. The decimal number 22 is represented in binary as 00010110 which by following the below chart breaks down to:
| Bit Position | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Decimal | 128 | 64 | 32 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
22 or 00010110:
All numbers representing 0 are not counted, 128, 64, 32, 8, 1 because 0 represents OFF
However, numbers representing 1 are counted, 16 + 4 + 2 = 22 because 1 represents ON
Decimal Values and Binary Equivalents chart
| Decimal | Binary |
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 10 |
| 3 | 11 |
| 4 | 100 |
| 5 | 101 |
| 6 | 110 |
| 7 | 111 |
| 8 | 1000 |
| 9 | 1001 |
| 10 | 1010 |
| 16 | 10000 |
| 32 | 100000 |
| 64 | 1000000 |
| 100 | 1100100 |
| 256 | 100000000 |
| 512 | 1000000000 |
| 1000 | 1111101000 |
| 1024 | 10000000000 |
Hexadecimal
The other major numbering system used by computers is hexadecimal, or Base 16. In this system, the numbers are counted from 0 to 9, then letters A to F before adding another digit. The letter A through F represent decimal numbers 10 through 15, respectively. The below chart indicates the values of the hexadecimal position compared to 16 raised to a power and decimal values. It is much easier to work with large numbers using hexadecimal values than decimal.
To convert a value from hexadecimal to binary, you merely translate each hexadecimal digit into its 4-bit binary equivalent. Hexadecimal numbers have either and 0x prefix or an h suffix. For example, the hexadecimal number:
0x3F7A
Translates into, Using the Binary chart and the below chart for Hex:
0011 1111 0111 1010
Decimal |
Hexadecimal |
Binary |
| 0 | 0 | 0000 |
| 1 | 1 | 0001 |
| 2 | 2 | 0010 |
| 3 | 3 | 0011 |
| 4 | 4 | 0100 |
| 5 | 5 | 0101 |
| 6 | 6 | 0110 |
| 7 | 7 | 0111 |
| 8 | 8 | 1000 |
| 9 | 9 | 1001 |
| 10 | A | 1010 |
| 11 | B | 1011 |
| 12 | C | 1100 |
| 13 | D | 1101 |
| 14 | E | 1110 |
| 15 | F | 1111 |
Additional information:
- See the binary, hexadecimal, and octal definitions for further information about each of these terms and related links.
