Number Systems
Dr. Tarek A. Tutunji
Philadelphia University, Jordan
Number Systems
► Programmable controllers use binary
numbers in one form or another to
represent various codes and quantities.
► Every number system has a base.
► The base of a number system determines
the total number of unique symbols used by
that system.
Decimal Number System
Decimal Number System
Binary Number System
► The binary number system uses the number 2 as
the base. Thus, the only allowable digits are:
0 (Off) and 1 (On).
Binary Number System
Octal Number System
► The octal number system uses the number 8 as
its base, with its eight digits being 0, 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, and 7.
Hexadecimal Number System
► Thehexadecimal
(hex) number
system uses 16 as its
base.
Hexadecimal Number System
Number Conversions
► To convert a decimal number to its equivalent in any base,
you must perform a series of divisions by the desired base.
► The conversion process starts by dividing the decimal
number by the base.
If there is a remainder, it is placed in the least significant digit
(right-most) position of the new base number.
If there is no remainder, a 0 is placed in least significant digit
position.
► The result of the division is then brought down, and the
process is repeated until the final result of the successive
divisions is 0.
Number Conversion Example:
convert decimal to binary
► Thebinary equivalent of the decimal number 35 is
100011.
Number Conversion Example:
convert decimal to hexadecimal
► The hexadecimal equivalent of 135510 is 54Bhex
Negative Numbers
► Consider the decimal number 23, or binary:101112
► What about -23?
If a minus sign is placed in front of the number, as we do with
decimal numbers: –(10111)2
► This method is suitable for us, but it is impossible for
programmable controllers and computers to interpret,
since the only symbols they use are binary 1s and 0s.
► Therefore, two’s compliment is used.
Two’s Compliment
► The two’s complement uses an extra digit to represent
the sign.
► In the two’s complement computation, each bit (from right
to left) is inverted only after the first 1 is detected.
► Let’s use the number +22 decimal as an example:
+2210 = 0 101102
► Its two’s complement would be:
–2210 = 1 010102
Binary Codes
► An important requirement of programmable controllers is
communication with various external (I/O) devices.
► This input/output function involves the transmission, manipulation, and
storage of binary data that, at some point, must be interpreted by
humans.
► Binary coding is the process of assigning a unique combination of 1s
and 0s to each number, letter, or symbol that must be represented.
► The most common codes used in the industry are:
ASCII
BCD
Gray
ASC II
► Alphanumeric codes are used when information processing
equipment, such as printers and cathode ray tubes (CRTs), must
process the alphabet along with numbers and special symbols.
► These alphanumeric characters—26 letters (uppercase), 10 numerals
(0-9), plus mathematical and punctuation symbols— can be
represented using a 6-bit code (i.e., 26 = 64 possible characters).
► The most common code for alphanumeric representation is ASCII (the
American Standard Code for Information Interchange). Although a 6-
bit code (64 possible characters) can accommodate the basic alphabet,
numbers, and special symbols, standard ASCII character sets use a 7-
bit code (27 = 128 possible characters), which provides room for lower
case and control characters, in addition to the characters already
mentioned.
BCD
► The binary coded decimal (BCD) system was
introduced as a convenient way for humans to
Handle numbers that must be input to digital machines
Interpret numbers that are output from machines.
BCD
Gray
► The Gray code is basically a modified binary code where
only one bit changes as the counting number increases.
This reduces the change of error. Therefore, it is suited
primarily for position transducers
Gray
Register Word Format
► Programmable controller perform all internal operations in binary
format using 1s and 0s. In addition, the status of I/O field devices is
also read and written, in binary form, to and from the PLC’s CPU.
► Generally, these operations are performed using a group of 16 bits.
► A PLC word (16-bits) is also called a register.
Reference: Programmable Controllers: Theory and
Implementation by Bryan and Bryan