There is an existence of binary numbers in the world and most of the machines are using binary numbers for processing. If there is binary, then you would probably imagine that why octal and hexadecimal numbers are required? Here, we bring you the importance of octal and hexadecimal numbers. Travel through this article and get the detailed information in the most pleasant way.
First of all, let’s discuss hexadecimal numbers and octal numbers in detail.
What is the hexadecimal number?
Hexadecimal numbers are the base-16 numbers. These numbers were introduced as the replacement of binary numbers. Many developers use hexadecimal numbers for the representation of the binary numbers in the shorter format. The hexadecimal numbers include 0 to 9 and A, B, C, D, E, F alphabetic numbers. If you want to represent the binary numbers into the shorter format, then you should definitely go with the hexadecimal numbers.
Since binary numbers contain just zeros and ones, it is really difficult to write and read binary fields. For that reason, many developers prefer to use the hexadecimal system to represent the binary numbers in the shorter format.
Where Hexadecimal is Used?
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.
Apart from that, hexadecimal numbers are used to describe the MAC address of an electronic system. MAC address is a unique address that represents a system’s code. For example, every computer system, routers, and switches have a unique MAC address. With the help of this MAC, we can identify it. You can also notice your router’s MAC address. That address only includes A to H and o to 9. These numbers are the representation of hexadecimal numbers.
Since hexadecimal numbers occupy a huge amount of space on the computer system, many developers do not use this system for the conversion. When the programmers are developing a huge app then there might not be an issue regarding disk space and many other things. In this situation, the developers can opt for the hexadecimal numbers over the binary numbers. In such a large app, choosing hex can be beneficial for the performance of an application.
What is an Octal Numbering system?
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. In the presence of binary and decimal, this numbering has not been so popular but there are many companies using this numbering system over the years. One of the popular examples is IBM using this numbering system for data fetching API. Octals are used in the systems such as UNIVAC, PDP, ICL and other mainframes with 6 bits, 12 bits, 24-bit, or 36-bits. Along with that, octal numbers are also used in the registers and flip-flops in the computer motherboards.
What is the connection between hexadecimal and octal?
The biggest advantage of a hexadecimal number is that the length of the string is short and it is easy to read. While octal’s advantage is that it is the quickest numbering system after the binary numbering system. Keeping that in mind, many developers use to combine these two numbering systems and create an awesome processing system out of it. With the help of hexadecimal to octal conversion, it takes a few moments for the computer system to process whole data.
So, this was the detailed information regarding hexadecimal and octal numbers performance. We would highly recommend to go through the binary and decimal numbers and then start learning about the hexadecimal to octal numbers conversion.
