![]() ![]() For reference, the largest 1 byte binary value is 11111111, which is ff in hex and 255 in decimal. And we can see what those same values would be if they were represented in decimal. We can see that every byte in binary (1 byte is equal to 8 bits) lines up with 2 hex characters. The hex and decimal representations are just different ways of representing those same bits. Here are their contents outputted:Īs mentioned above, binary is the numeral system that computers "understand." The binary representation of these two files are literally how these files are stored in the computer (as what are known as bits, 1s and 0s, on the computer). To provide some examples for this post I created two files via the command line: file1.txt and file2.txt. Let's explore how to turn this theory into practical knowledge. So the advantage is that hex can represent large numbers much more efficiently than binary (and more efficiently than decimal too for that matter). The difference in representation size was stark enough for just the number ten, but it grows significantly more unequal when using larger numbers. It takes eight characters in binary (or four without the padding of 0s), but only one in hex! That's due to the number of symbols each use. We could represent it in binary ( 00001010) or in hex ( a). What use is that? Let's refer back to the number ten. Great, so we can represent the same number in multiple ways. And it is with these 1s and 0s that the fundamentals of computing are accomplished, such as storing data or performing mathematical calculations. Why? Because computers fundamentally think of things as being "on" or "off." Computers rely on electrons having either a positive charge or a negative charge to represent 1s and 0s. If we instead applied that ease-of-use criteria to computers we would get binary (or base-2). We have 10 fingers and 10 toes, so that makes learning how to count far more intuitive when we are infants. ![]() What is the number for how many fingers you have? You could say it's 00001010, 10, or a and all three would be accurate! We learn to say 10 because the easiest and most common numeral system for humans is decimal, also known as base-10. A number seems pretty straightforward, but it's actually an abstract concept. That's a fancy way of saying, "here's how to represent a number." If you step back and think about it, numbers are funny things. Hexadecimal (abbreviated as hex) and binary are both numeral systems. Also, "representation" does a better job (in my mind at least) of describing what is actually happening. However I prefer using the term "representation." It makes encoding less of an overloaded definition. Technically an argument could be made that the semantics are correct. ![]() Personally I don't like the use of the term "encoding" here. Frankly I found it all really confusing until I set out to write this post! I'm going to address each of these statements and attempt to define and disambiguate exactly what encoding means.Ī similar phrase to hex encoding is binary encoding. These represent many of the ways the term "encode" is used across the industry. Our message is safe because it's encoded using Base64 Let's write the output to a UTF-8 encoded file Have you ever come across some of these statements?
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