Whether you are a computer worm or not, you might have heard people talking about number “one” & “Zero.” It was all I know about the digital devices before I started programming. But as I progressed with computer programming, I came to realize that these “ones” and “zero’s” have the capacity of not only being the medium of communication between machines and humans but with its effective use, it can mold complexity.
You might be thinking it’s complex but only for slow-witted people. An average human being can understand the intricacy quickly and easily. Digital devices operate themselves on “one” and “zero” to store data. Instead of counting number based on 10-digits like we use to do, in preparatory classes during childhood. The binary system has laid down its foundation only on two-digits. The Binary Number system was initially developed by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz back in the 1600s, but ancient Egyptian also used it.
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Binary & Denary Number System
In the contemporary number system, we use 10-digits, and you might have come across people also referring to this system as base 10 system, or it is also known as denary. Whereas, when we refer to the binary system, we only have two digits, so in this regard, it is also known as the base 2 system.
Writing in Base 2 System
Everyone is well aware that digital devices run on base 2 system, and it’s quite evident that we don’t type binary. But it indicates that whatever we type on a keyboard, it is somehow converted into binary. The process is carried out by various layers of abstractions but relax we are not going to delve into all this stuff as it is unnecessary to know about layers as we won’t get something different out of it to learn. But I genuinely believe that we must know about the conversion process.
Do you remember your elementary classes? (if not read more about Binary Number System)
We use to learn Multiplication Tables!
At that time, we think it is useless, but later on, when we were in middle school we started to know about exponents, and that was the point where we realized that those multiplication tables were not useless. Now, you have to get back to those tables as now again; you will realize its importance. Binary Number system can test your elementary level mathematics.
How Computers can Understand Binary Number System
We had already figured out that computers can only read the binary number system. But do you know that the blocks and switches in digital devices are the actual manifestations of a binary system? The computers are made up of billions of tiny circuits, and you may know that these circuits are formed of switches. And everyone is well aware that the switches have only two positions, it is either on or off. You can understand this phenomenon by true and false as well. And consequently, the two-digit “one” and “zero” manifest on/off.
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The Influence of Two-Digits
Programmers rarely think about the binary number system. But it is highly essential to learn about this system. Apparently, it seems to be needless to think deeply about the Binary number system. Imagine computers back in its early days, they use to occupy rooms due to their enormous size, but now you can hold them in your hands, it is truly flabbergasting. By looking at the crux of this system, it can be understood by every digital device. So, I think it is worth thinking about this system as now we are living in a virtual world, and everything around us is written in this language.
Binary Conversion Tools
Internet is thronged with binary conversion tools. Just type binary in the Google search bar, and you will come across plenty of tools to convert binary into other forms. The most popular conversion is Binary to ASCII. It is because all of the latest encoding-systems base themselves on ASCII.
Now these tools have made it easy to convert, and you will get relief from the hassle of manual conversion as it is not only hectic, but there is a probability of errors while manually performing the task.
Get more information about ASCII Tables and examples of various types of such tables.
