Scribd
Upload
83 views1 page

Hand Out

1) A bit is the smallest unit of information that can hold a value of 1 or 0. Bytes are composed of 8 bits and are used to represent a single character. 2) Units like kilobytes and megabytes refer to multiples of bytes and are used to quantify computer memory and storage. 3) Hexadecimal is a numbering system using 16 symbols that is useful for representing bytes as pairs of hexadecimal digits and is more human-readable than binary.

Uploaded by

Naveen Kumar
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
83 views1 page

Hand Out

1) A bit is the smallest unit of information that can hold a value of 1 or 0. Bytes are composed of 8 bits and are used to represent a single character. 2) Units like kilobytes and megabytes refer to multiples of bytes and are used to quantify computer memory and storage. 3) Hexadecimal is a numbering system using 16 symbols that is useful for representing bytes as pairs of hexadecimal digits and is more human-readable than binary.

Uploaded by

Naveen Kumar
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Bit, Byte, and Binary

Number of bitsNumber of values2 raised to the powerNumber of bytesUnit121Bit0 / 12423834164NibbleHexadecimal


unit5325664671287825681ByteOne character95129101024101665,536162
Number of bytes2 raised to the powerUnit1ByteOne character102410KiloByte (Kb)Small text1,048,57620MegaByte (Mb)A
book1,073,741,82430GigaByte (Gb)An large encyclopedia1,099,511,627,77640TeraByte
bit: Short for binary digit, the smallest unit of information on a machine. John Tukey, a leading statistician and adviser to five
presidents first used the term in 1946. A single bit can hold only one of two values: 0 or 1. More meaningful information is obtained
by combining consecutive bits into larger units. For example, a byte is composed of 8 consecutive bits. Computers are sometimes
classified by the number of bits they can process at one time or by the number of bits they use to represent addresses. These two
values are not always the same, which leads to confusion. For example, classifying a computer as a 32-bit machine might mean that
its data registers are 32 bits wide or that it uses 32 bits to identify each address in memory. Whereas larger registers make a computer
faster, using more bits for addresses enables a machine to support larger programs. Graphics are also often described by the number of
bits used to represent each dot. A 1-bit image is monochrome; an 8-bit image supports 256 colors or grayscales; and a 24- or 32-bit
graphic supports true color.

nibble: Half a byte – four bits. Nibbles are important in hexadecimal and BCD representations. The term is sometimes spelled nybble.

byte: Abbreviation for binary term, a unit of storage capable of holding a single character. On almost all modern computers, a byte is
equal to 8 bits. Large amounts of memory are indicated in terms of kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes. A disk that can hold 1.44
megabytes, for example, is capable of storing approximately 1.4 million characters, or about 3,000 pages of information.

hexadecimal: Refers to the base-16 number system, which consists of 16 unique symbols: the numbers 0 to 9 and the letters A to F.
For example, the decimal number 15 is represented as F in the hexadecimal numbering system. The hexadecimal system is useful
because it can represent every byte (8 bits) as two consecutive hexadecimal digits representing the two parts (nibble) of the byte. It is
easier for humans to read hexadecimal numbers than binary numbers. 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 3F7A translates to the binary number 0011 1111 0111 1010

big-endian: Refers to which bytes are most significant in multi-byte data types. In big-endian architectures, the leftmost bytes (those
with a lower address) are most significant. In little-endian architectures, the rightmost bytes are most significant. For example,
consider the number 1025 (2 to the tenth power plus one) stored in a 4-byte integer

Big-Endian representation of 1025 Little-Endian representation of 1025fist byte0000000000000001second


byte0000000000000100third byte0000010000000000fourth byte0000000100000000
Note that the example above shows only big- and little-endian byte orders. The bit ordering within each byte can also be big- or little-
endian, and some architectures actually use big-endian ordering for bits and little-endian ordering for bytes, or vice versa.
The terms big-endian and little-endian are derived from the Lilliputians of Gulliver's Travels, whose major political issue was whether
soft-boiled eggs should be opened on the big side or the little side. Likewise, the big-/little-endian computer debate has much more to
do with political issues than technological merits.

You might also like