12/27/2023 0 Comments No of bits in a byteWhile bits can only be one or zero, bytes can store data such as characters, symbols, and large numbers.īytes are also commonly the smallest unit of information that can be “addressed.” That means that bytes can literally have addresses of sorts that tell the computer which cross wires (or cross streets, if you want to imagine a chip as a tiny city) to retrieve the stored value from. You can also represent more complex information with bytes than you can with bits. The biggest number you can make with a byte is 255, which in binary is 11111111, because it’s 128+64+32+16+8+4+2+1. So while zero and one in the decimal number system correspond to zero and one in the binary number system, two in decimal is 10 in binary, three in decimal is 11 in binary, and four in decimal is 100 in binary. Counting with bits works a little like counting on an abacus, but the column values are orders of two (128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1). So if you have eight bits, or a byte, you can represent 256 states or values. The value states that can be represented in bits can grow exponentially. As computer scientists stack more and more of these switches onto a processing unit, the switches can become unwieldy to manage, which is why bits are sometimes organized into sets of eight, also known as a byte. Bits can also represent information and values like true (one) and false (zero), and are considered the language of machines.Īrranging these bits into clever and intricate matrices on semiconductor chips allow computer scientists to perform a wide variety of tasks, like encoding information and retrieving data from memory. It is the smallest unit of memory that exists in two states: on and off, otherwise known as one and zero. Bits are tiny, binary switches that underlie many of the fundamental operations computers perform. But if you break down one of these problem-solving engines into its essentials, at the heart of it you’ll find the most basic unit of memory: a bit. Harrison Broadbent / Unsplash SHAREĬomputers today are capable of wonderful marvels and complex calculations. Bits and bytes are the fundamentals of computing.
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