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(Chapter 1) Use of Binary and hexadecimal number

The document discusses data representation in computer science, focusing on analog and digital data, with an emphasis on binary and hexadecimal number systems. It explains why computers use binary for processing and storage, and highlights the benefits of hexadecimal for human readability and ease of debugging. Various applications of both binary and hexadecimal in computing, such as memory addresses and HTML color codes, are also outlined.

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1 views

(Chapter 1) Use of Binary and hexadecimal number

The document discusses data representation in computer science, focusing on analog and digital data, with an emphasis on binary and hexadecimal number systems. It explains why computers use binary for processing and storage, and highlights the benefits of hexadecimal for human readability and ease of debugging. Various applications of both binary and hexadecimal in computing, such as memory addresses and HTML color codes, are also outlined.

Uploaded by

dxrk0069
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Computer Science

Teacher: Maruf Ahmed


Chapter 1 (Data representation)

Analog data, Digital data, Uses of Binary number and Hexadecimal number

Analog data: data values that are continuously changing. Analog data is continuous and non-discrete data.
Data such as sound wave
Digital data: Discrete (individually separate and distinct) data that has only two values. For example, binary
data which is either 1 or 0.

Why computer uses Binary numbers?


- Computers use voltages and since voltages changes often, no specific voltage is set for each number
in the decimal system. For this reason, binary is measured as a two-state system i.e., on or off. Also,
to keep calculations simple, computers use the binary number system.
- Any form of data needs to be converted to binary to be processed by a computer
- Data is processed using logic gates and stored in registers

Why data is stored as binary in computers?


- Computers use switch/logic gate which has only 2 states either ‘On’ state or ‘Off’ state and are
represented by 1 and 0 respectively.

Uses of binary number in computer:


Binary numbers are used to store:
- an address in main memory
- data
- ASCII value / Unicode value / character
- number
- part of image / small image
- a sound / sound sample / small sound track
- instruction

Why human uses Hexadecimal numbers?


- Hexadecimal numbers are used in many areas of computing to simplify binary codes.
- It is important to note that computers do not use hexadecimal - it is used by humans to shorten binary
to a more easily understandable form.
- Hexadecimal is translated into binary for computer use.

Benefits of using hexadecimal notation to represent binary values:


• Easier to read/write/understand
• Easier to remember
• Short way to represent binary // Uses less screen/display space
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• Easier to debug
• easier to find errors
• conversion from hexadecimal to binary is easier than denary to binary
• faster than binary for entering numbers

Why a programmer might prefer to read the instruction in hexadecimal rather than in binary
• Easier/quicker to understand/read
• Easier to debug/identify errors
• Fewer digits are used / shorter // takes up less space on screen // more can be shown on screen / page

Some general uses of Hexadecimal number with examples in computer:


• Used in HTML colour codes / Notations for colour in HTML
e.g., red - FF0000, green - 00FF00, blue - 0000FF
• Used in memory dump / error codes (shows the memory location of the error codes)
e.g., 5F 3A 09 F1
• Used in MAC (Media Access Control) addresses
e.g., 01-23-45-67-89-AB (in 48 bits) or 01-23-45-67-89-AB-CD-12 (in 64 bits)
• Used to represent IP addresses
e.g., B1.2A.1F.A2 (in 32 bits for IPv4 version)
e.g., B213:ABC2:C123: AABC: 2323:1322:9392:11AB (in 128 bits for IPv6 version)
• To generate error messages on the internet
e.g., error #404 page not found, error #503 Service Unavailable
• Used in Assembly language
e.g., 5F 3A 09
• Used in Machine Language
e.g., AB 2C F2
• Used as locations in memory
e.g., AA 09 F1

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