Tech Info - Hexadecimal, Decimal and Binary

The contents of any memory location or value can be expressed in many numbering systems. The most commonly used numbering systems in the Information Technology (IT) world are Decimal, Hexadecimal and Binary:

Numbering System	Base	Range	Notes
Decimal	base 10	0 - 1,2,3...	The most common numbering system - dollars, metric etc.
Binary	base 2	0 - 1	The basic level at which the electronic circuitry in a computer works i.e. a single bit.
Hexadecimal	base 16	0-9, A-F	Each Hexadecimal character represents 4 bits (0 - 15 decimal) which is called a nibble (derived from byte - honest!). A byte (or octet) is 8 bits so is always represented by 2 Hex characters.

Some examples using an 8 bit byte (an octet):

Decimal	Hexadecimal	Binary
0	00	0000 0000
1	01	0000 0001
2	02	0000 0010
3	03	0000 0011
4	04	0000 0100
5	05	0000 0101
6	06	0000 0110
7	07	0000 0111
8	09	0000 1000
9	09	0000 1001
10	0A	0000 1010
11	0B	0000 1011
12	0C	0000 1100
13	0D	0000 1101
14	0E	0000 1110
15	0F	0000 1111
16	10	0001 0000
65	41	0100 0001
187	BB	1011 1011
255	FF	1111 1111

To convert a dotted decimal IPv4 address to hexadecimal, take each dotted decimal value and convert it using a hex calculator (standard windows calculator in scientific mode will do the job). This will yield:

IP address in dotted decimal = 192.168.0.5
Decimal 192 = Hexadecimal = C0
Decimal 168 = Hexadecimal = A8
Decimal 0   = Hexadecimal = 00
Decimal 5   = Hexadecimal = 05
IP Address in dotted hex = C0.A8.00.05

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Tech Info - Hexadecimal, Decimal and Binary

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