4 - Hex to its friends

Abstract

This chapter describes the advantages of an alternative number system called hexadecimal that overcomes the shortcomings of the binary and denary system. Binary uses two different bits, denary uses ten different digits, while hexadecimal uses 16 different digits. Hexadecimal counts from 0 to 15 that means 16 different digits and so has a base of 16. “One eight” in hexadecimal is equal to 24 in denary. It cannot be quoted as “eighteen” because “eighteen” is a denary number. Using a base of 16 means that the number of digits used to represent a given number is usually less than in binary or denary. It is compact and quick. It is easy to convert between hexadecimal and binary, and fairly easy to go between hexadecimal and denary.