Number Bases Basics


Different number bases, such as base 2 (binary), 10 (decimal), and 16 (hexadecimal), are relatively easy to work with if you have some very basic knowledge.

If you know the number base, you know the number of values for each digit in a number, and you can also determine the value of the digits to the left of the least significant digit in a number. Remember this: the lefmost digit of any number is the most significant digit; the rightmost digit is the least siginificant digit of the number. So, in a number such as 107, the one is the most significant, the seven is the least significant digit.

Lets look at number base comparisons: Lets take a common number: 256 base 10.

Base 10: 2 x 100 + 5 x 10 + 6 x 1 = 200+50+6 = 256 (Base 10)

Base 2: 2(8th) = 256 + 0x128 + 0x64 + 0x32 + 0x16 + 0x8 + 0x4 + 0x2 + 0x1 = 100000000 (Base 2)

Base 16: 16(2nd)= 256 + 0x16 + 0x1 = 100 (base 16)

Hmmmm.


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