5.1.2 Binary as Storage

Binary Storage Basics

• Byte and Bit:

  • 1 Byte = 8 Bits

  • Bit (b): Fundamental unit of data (0 or 1)

  • Bytes are used to measure file sizes (e.g., Kilobyte (KB), Megabyte (MB)).

Data Representation

• A single Byte can hold:

  • A number (up to 255)

  • A letter

  • A special character

Information Coding Formats

• ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange):

  • 7-bit code mapping binary to characters

  • Represents 127 characters; some reserved for control characters.

Data Translation

• Computers store data in bits and bytes; conversion to binary is required for human-readable information.

ASCII Format

• ASCII is commonly used to encode information.

• It includes:

  • Lower-case letters

  • Upper-case letters

  • Numbers (0-9)

  • Common symbols (e.g., &, ^, #, ")

• Encodes characters in bytes used in modern computers.

Unicode Standard

• Developed by Unicode Consortium (non-profit).

• Improves upon ASCII format.

• Assigns a unique number to every character, regardless of platform or language.

• Supports a wide range of characters, including emojis (e.g., U+1F600).

Storing Data in Binary

• Titles converted to binary require significant 0's and 1's.

• More data requires more bytes.

• Size conversions:

  • 1024 bytes = 1 kilobyte (KB) = ~180 words

  • 1024 KB = 1 megabyte (MB)

  • 1024 MB = 1 gigabyte (GB)

• Measurement applies to system memory and data storage.

• Most memory types are volatile storage (data lost when powered off).