Why we use octal and hexadecimal number system to represent computer programs?

, BS in computer science, 15 years experience as a programmer. Octal and hexadecimal number systems are great ways to concisely represent a bit pattern. Each octal digit is exactly equivalent to 3 bits, and each hexadecimal digit is exactly equivalent to 4 bits.

Why do we use a hexadecimal number system in computers?

The main reason why we use hexadecimal numbers is because it provides a more human-friendly representation and is much easier to express binary number representations in hex than it is in any other base number system. Computers do not actually work in hex.

What is the need for octal and hexadecimal number system when the computer understands only binary system?

32-bit and 64-bit numbers are more naturally represented in hex than in octal (since 32 or 64 divide by 4, but not 3). Hexadecimal digits are used to represent memory addresses and data in a less painful way than it is to do with binary digits. Computers work in binary system (base 2).

What are the advantages of hexadecimal number system over octal number system?

The main advantage of a Hexadecimal Number is that it is very compact and by using a base of 16 means that the number of digits used to represent a given number is usually less than in binary or decimal. Also, it is quick and easy to convert between hexadecimal numbers and binary.

What is octal number system in computer?

Octal Number System is a type of number system that has a base of eight and uses digits from 0 to 7. A number system is a system of naming, representing, or expressing numbers in different types of forms.

What is the advantage of using Hexadecimal number?

The main advantage of using Hexadecimal numbers is that it uses less memory to store more numbers, for example it store 256 numbers in two digits whereas decimal number stores 100 numbers in two digits. This number system is also used to represent Computer memory addresses.

What is advantages of octal and hexadecimal numbers over binary numbers?

The main advantage of using Octal numbers is that it uses less digits than decimal and Hexadecimal number system. So, it has fewer computations and less computational errors. It uses only 3 bits to represent any digit in binary and easy to convert from octal to binary and vice-versa.

What are the importance of number systems in our daily lives?

Numbers play an important role in our lives. Almost all the things we do involve numbers and Mathematics. Whether we like it or not, our life revolves in numbers since the day we were born. There are numerous numbers directly or indirectly connected to our lives.

What do you understand by hexadecimal number system?

Hexadecimal describes a base-16 number system. That is, it describes a numbering system containing 16 sequential numbers as base units (including 0) before adding a new position for the next number. (Note that we’re using “16” here as a decimal number to explain a number that would be “10” in hexadecimal.)

Why not use hexadecimal and Octal bases for computer numbers?

Computers end up representing them in binary, and humans strongly prefer getting their decimal representation. Why not stick to these two bases? Octal (base-8) and hexadecimal (base-16) numbers are a reasonable compromise between the binary (base-2) system computers use and decimal (base-10) system most humans use.

What is the difference between Hex and octal?

Octal follows the same pattern, but deals with 3 bits at a time. It has the advantage of not going outside of our numbers that we usually use for math, and the (bigger) disadvantage that 3 isn’t a number we usually use. 32-bit and 64-bit numbers are more naturally represented in hex than in octal (since 32 or 64 divide by 4, but not 3).

What is an octal number?

As the name suggests, octal numbers are the base-8 numbers. These numbers are similar to the binary or decimal numbering system. This system just contains a number. These numbers are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is hexadecimal numbering system?

As described above, the hexadecimal numbering system is used as the replacement of the binary numbers. Since hexadecimal occupies a huge amount of memory space in the system compared to a binary number, developers use this system when it is really necessary.