Chapter 2: Computer System Components - The Language of Computers
Learning Objectives for Managers:
- Understand why computers use binary and how data is fundamentally represented.
- Comprehend different number systems (Decimal, Binary, Hexadecimal) and their business
relevance.
- Grasp how basic binary arithmetic works and its implications for data size and processing.
- Learn the units of data measurement and their practical significance in storage, memory,
and networking.
- Decode how coding methods like ASCII and Unicode translate human language for
computers.
2.1 Number System in Computers
Why does this matter to a Manager?
Computers operate on binary logic due to how hardware works. Understanding data
capacity, performance, and system compatibility depends on understanding number
systems.
Decimal System (Base-10)
Digits: 0-9
Example: 345 = (3×10²)+(4×10¹)+(5×10⁰)
Binary System (Base-2)
Digits: 0 and 1 (bits)
Example: 1101₂ = (1×8)+(1×4)+(0×2)+(1×1)=13₁₀
Hexadecimal System (Base-16)
Digits: 0-9 and A-F
Example: A3F₁₆ = (10×256)+(3×16)+(15×1)=2623₁₀
2.2 Converting Between Number Systems
Binary to Decimal: Multiply each bit by powers of 2.
Decimal to Binary: Divide by 2 and record remainders.
Example: 29₁₀ = 11101₂
Binary to Hex: Group into sets of 4 bits.
Hex to Binary: Convert each digit to its 4-bit form.
2.3 Binary Arithmetic
Binary Addition Example:
0110 (6)
+ 0111 (7)
= 1101 (13)
Binary Subtraction using 2's Complement Example:
9 - 5:
5₂ = 0101 → invert → 1010 → +1 → 1011
1001 + 1011 = 0100 (ignore carry) = 4
2.4 Units of Data Representation
- Bit = 1 or 0
- Byte = 8 bits
Larger Units:
KB = 1024 B
MB = 1024 KB
GB = 1024 MB
TB = 1024 GB
Storage uses Bytes, Speed uses bits (bps).
2.5 Coding Methods
ASCII:
7-bit, 128 characters (mainly English).
Unicode (UTF-8):
Universal character set supporting all languages.
Backward compatible with ASCII.
Uses 1-4 bytes per character.
Essential for global software and modern web systems.