When an entire document is processed as hexadecimal, the values are shown as pairs, such as FF A0 2D CE. The leading 0x characters only indicate the number system. Since hex, binary, and octal can all look the same at first glance, this reserved prefix avoids confusion and reduces error.įor example, 0x2FF0C4 describes a hexademical address in memory equivalent to a binary value of 0010 1111 1111 0000 1100 0100 and a decimal value of 3,141,828. These characters label the following values as hexadecimal. When writing hexadecimal values, the characters 0x may begin the value. Conventions for Reading and Writing Hexadecimal Values Humans can read hex easily, while computers can read binary easily. By writing hexadecimal values as a series of pairs, you can easily “chunk” a file’s binary data into bytes.Įssentially, hexadecimal and binary provide different “frames” for the same underlying data. In hexadecimal, that’s 00 through FF, respectively. That’s equivalent to one byte with thirty-two possible values. Examine the table below to see the equivalencies.Ĭombine two hexadecimal numbers, and you can express eight bits of information. If you remember your binary, you’ll know that half a byte has exactly 16 possible values – the same number of values a hex digit can have. Each hexadecimal digit expresses four binary digits. Thanks to the larger number space, multiple binary digits can be expressed in a single hex digit.

It uses a base 16 number system instead of binary’s base 2. In computing, hexadecimal provides a more concise way to represent binary values.

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