Binary systems and Hexadecimal

• Series of 1’s and 0’s that represent values or characters • Values are stored in base-2 (denary is in base-10) • One binary digit is called a ‘bit’ • 8 bits make up one ‘byte’ • The maximum size of the integer able to be stored depends on the number of bits used - e.g. the largest number stored by 8 bits is 255

• A register is a location where data that the processor is using can be stored • Processors have internal registers that data can be transferred between • The register itself is a group of binary cells, where data is stored as a series of 1’s and 0’s.

• A system of writing numerals where each digit is represented by a 4-bit binary sequence • Has the advantage that there is no limit to the size of the number: to add another digit, you just need to add a new 4-bit sequence • Used in barcodes and arithmetic where every digit has to be retained in a result

• Series of the numbers 1-9 and letters A-F that represent values or characters • Values are stored in base-16

• Each hexadecimal digit represents 4 binary digits, so it is shorter to read • Easier for programmers to read as more characters are used (not just 1’s and 0’s) • Very large numbers can be stored in a smaller amount of space

• defining colours in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) • Media Access Control (MAC) addresses • assembly languages and machine code • debugging