Number System is a method of representing numbers with the help of a
set of symbols and rules; it is a mathematical notation used to represent
quantities or values in various forms.
Number systems provide a structured way to represent numbers, enabling
arithmetic operations and ensuring consistent, understandable notation.
A number system uses a base (or radix) to represent values.
The base refers to the number of unique digits, including zero, that a
system uses to represent numbers.
Each system has its own set of rules for representing.
Binary Number System
Binary Number System is the number system with base 2.
The numbers are formed using two digits - 0 and 1.
Binary number system is very useful in electronic devices and computer
systems because it can be easily performed using just two state i.e. 0
and 1.
Each digit in the number is at a specific place value that is powers of 2.
From right to left - as powers of 2 i.e. 20, 21, 22, etc).
Octal Number System
Octal Number System is the number system with base 8.
The numbers are formed using 8 digits i.e. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Octal number system is useful for representing file permissions in
Unix/Linux operating systems.
Each digit in the number is at a specific place value that is powers of 8.
From right to left - as powers of 8 i.e. 80, 81, 82, etc.
Hexadecimal Number System
Hexadecimal Number System is the number system with base 16.
The numbers are formed using 16 digits i.e. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C,
D, E and F.
Hexadecimal Numbers are useful for handling memory address
locations.
The digits from 0 to 9 are used as in the decimal system, but the
numbers 10 to 15 are represented using the letters A to F as follows: 10 is
represented as A, 11 as B, 12 as C, 13 as D, 14 as E, 15 as F.
ii. Place Value: the position of the digit. Each digit in the number is at a
specific place value that is powers of 16. (from right to left - as powers of
16 i.e. 160, 161, 162, etc)
To convert (11101011)2 into a decimal number.
Steps:
Step 1: Multiply each digit of the Binary number with the place value of
that digit, starting from right to left i.e. from LSB to MSB.
Step 2: Add the result of this multiplication and the decimal number will
be formed.
Binary to Octal Conversion
Binary numbers have a base of 2, while octal numbers have a base of 8.
To convert a binary number to an octal number, the base is changed from 2
to 8.
Example: To convert (11101011)2 into an octal number.
Steps:
Step 1: Divide the binary number into groups of three digits starting from
right to left i.e. from LSB to MSB.
Step 2: Convert these groups into equivalent octal digits.
Binary to Hexadecimal Conversion
Binary numbers have a base of 2, while hexadecimal numbers have a base
of 16. To convert a binary number to a hexadecimal number, group the
digits appropriately and convert to the corresponding hexadecimal value.
Example: To convert (1110101101101)2 into a hex number.
Steps:
Step 1: Divide the binary number into groups of four digits starting from
right to left i.e. from LSB to MSB.
Step 2: Convert these groups into equivalent hex digits.
Binary Addition
The result of the addition of two binary numbers is also a binary number. To obtain
the result of the addition of two binary numbers, we have to add the digits of the
binary numbers digit by digit. The table below shows the rules of binary addition.
Binary Number (1) Binary Number (2) Addition Carry
0 0 0 0
0 1 1 0
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 1
Binary Subtraction
The result of the subtraction of two binary numbers is also a binary number. To
obtain the result of the subtraction of two binary numbers, we have to subtract the
digits of the binary numbers digit by digit. The table below shows the rule of
binary subtraction.
Binary Number Binary Number
(1) (2) Subtraction Borrow
0 0 0 0
0 1 1 1
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 0
1's and 2's Complement of a Binary Number
1's Complement of a Binary Number is obtained by inverting the
digits of the binary number.
Example: Find the 1's complement of (10011)2.
Solution:
Given Binary Number is (10011)2
Now, to find its 1's complement, we have to invert the digits of the given
number.
To find the 1's complement of a binary number, you simply flip all the
bits:
Thus, 1's complement of (10011)2 is (01100)2
2's Complement of a Binary Number is obtained by inverting the
digits of the binary number and then adding 1 to the least
significant bit.
Example: Find the 2's complement of (1011)2.
Solution:
Ecdz Given Binary Number is (1011)2
To find the 2's complement, first find its 1's complement, i.e., (0100)2
Now, by adding 1 to the least significant bit, we get (0101)2
Hence, the 2's complement of (1011)2 is (0101)2
In binary, computers distinguish between positive and negative numbers
by designating a specific bit (usually the leftmost one) as the sign bit.
1. The Sign Bit
For most signed binary systems:
0 indicates a positive number.
1 indicates a negative number
Positive numbers in binary use a leading 0 as the sign bit, while negative numbers
typically use a leading 1 , most commonly represented via two's complement,
where you flip all bits of the positive equivalent and add one, making the leftmost bit
the negative sign bit in standard computing. Positive values (e.g., 0101 for 5) have
a 0 sign bit, but negative numbers (e.g., 1011 for -5) use the 1 in the MSB (Most
Significant Bit) and the remaining bits for magnitude, allowing hardware to perform
arithmetic easily.
Positive Numbers
Sign Bit: 0 (leftmost bit).
Example (4-bit):
o 0101 = +5 (0 for positive, 101 for 5).
Negative Numbers (Two's Complement)
This is the standard method for representing negative numbers in computers.
1. Start with the positive binary: E.g., for 5, it's 0101 (using 4 bits).
2. Invert (flip) all bits: 0101 becomes 1010 .
3. Add 1: 1010 + 1 = 1011 .
Result: 1011 represents -5 in 4-bit two's complement. The 1 in the MSB signifies
it's negative.
CHARACTER CODE
A character code is a system used to represent characters in a computer or digital device. It
is a set of rules that assigns a unique numerical value to each character, symbol, and
punctuation mark used in written communication.
ASCII Values Alphabets ( A-Z, a-z & Special
Character Table )
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) is a character
encoding standard that assigns unique numeric values to letters, digits,
punctuation marks and symbols. Since computers work only with binary
data (0s and 1s), ASCII acts as a bridge by converting human-readable
characters into machine-readable numbers.
Each character is assigned a unique ASCII value ranging from 0 to 127.
Uppercase letters, lowercase letters, digits and symbols all have
different ASCII values.
Example: 'A' = 65, 'a' = 97, '0' = 48
This process continues as follows:
Each ASCII value is converted into binary (0s and 1s), which is the
language computers and networks understand.
The binary data is then transmitted digitally through communication
channels such as the internet, cables or wireless signals.
The receiving device decodes the binary data back into ASCII values.
Finally, those ASCII values are translated back into readable characters,
displaying the original text exactly as it was sent.
EBCDIC stands for Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
which is a legacy encoding system.
The EBCDIC (Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code) is an
alphanumeric code used in digital systems to represent alphanumeric characters, such as letters,
numbers, symbols, etc.
EBCDIC is pronounced as "eb-si-dik". It is an 8-bit binary coded used for representing alphanumeric
data in digital systems.
Characteristics of EBCDIC Code
The following are some key characteristics of the EBCDIC code −
EBCDIC code uses 8-bit binary coding scheme to represent alphanumeric data.
EBCDIC code provides characters and symbols used in the field of commerce and finance. Hence, it is
well-suited for business data processing applications.
EBCDIC code was primarily designed to use in IBM mainframe systems and it was compatible with
punched card systems.
EBCDIC code has a non-sequential binary assignment of characters.
EBCDIC code is not directly compatible with ASCII (American Standard Code for Information
Interchange) due to its non-sequential binary assignment.
EBCDIC code is a better choice for record-oriented processing in which the data is organized into
fixed-length records like in batch processing.
It's an encoding system that is used to encode 8 bits, because of 8 bit
we can assign numeric values from 0 to 255 to different alphabetic,
numeric, punctuation, control, and other special characters that are used
in computing, communications, and text.
Boolean Algebra
Boolean Algebra is a branch of mathematics that deals with variables that
have only two possible values — typically denoted as 0 and 1
(or false and true). It focuses on binary variables and logic operations such
as AND, OR, and NOT.
Boolean Algebra provides a formal way to represent and manipulate
logical statements and binary operations.
It is the mathematical foundation of digital electronics, computer logic,
and programming conditions.
Truth Tables
A truth table represents all the combinations of input values and outputs in
a tabular manner. All the possibilities of the input and output are shown in it
,and hence the name truth table. In logic problems, truth tables are
commonly used to represent various cases. T or 1 denotes 'True' & F or 0
denotes 'False' in the truth table.
An axiomatic definition of Boolean algebra defines it as a set with closure, commutativity,
associativity, distributivity, identity elements (0 and 1), and complements, under two binary
operations (AND, OR) and a NOT operator, forming the foundation for logic and digital circuits