What is a hexadecimal number? Why is it important? (2024)

FAQs

What is a hexadecimal number? Why is it important? ›

Hex numbers are compact and use less memory, so more numbers can be stored in computer systems. Their small size also makes input-output handling easier compared to other numbering formats. Because it's easy to convert hexadecimal to binary and vice versa, the system is widely used in computer programming.

For example, hexadecimal is used to denote colors in the “hex” scheme. For memory readouts, values are also often in hexadecimal. Even braille is coded in hexadecimal. There are a couple obvious reasons why hexadecimal is preferable to the standard binary that computers store at the low level.

The hexadecimal number system is a type of number system, that has a base value equal to 16. It is also pronounced sometimes as 'hex'. Hexadecimal numbers are represented by only 16 symbols.

Hex codes are a hexadecimal format for identifying colors. This is a system used in HTML, CSS and SVG. Each hex code refers to a very specific color, which allows for two designers or a designer and developer to be on the same page about what exact light blue (or any other color) they are referring to.

Hex is useful because large numbers can be represented using fewer digits. For example, colour values and MAC addresses are often represented in hex. Additionally, hex is easier to understand than binary. Programmers often use hex to represent binary values as they are simpler to write and check than when using binary.

Hex numbers are compact and use less memory, so more numbers can be stored in computer systems. Their small size also makes input-output handling easier compared to other numbering formats. Because it's easy to convert hexadecimal to binary and vice versa, the system is widely used in computer programming.

For example: 7B316,6F16,4B2A16 7 B 3 16 , 6 F 16 , 4 B 2 A 16 are hexadecimal numbers. A hexadecimal number system is also known as a positional number system as each digit has a weight of power 16.

Using the hexadecimal codes, you can show more than 16 million unique colors, which is thought to be more than the human eye can perceive. You can use color pickers or converters to create the code for you.

Hex color codes start with a pound sign or hashtag (#) and are followed by six letters and/or numbers. The first two letters/numbers refer to red, the next two refer to green, and the last two refer to blue. The color values are defined in values between 00 and FF (instead of from 0 to 255 in RGB).

What is hexadecimal used for today? ›

Software developers and system designers widely use hexadecimal numbers because they provide a convenient representation of binary-coded values. Each hexadecimal digit represents four bits (binary digits), also known as a nibble (or nybble).

Hexadecimal can be used to write large binary numbers in just a few digits. It makes life easier as it allows grouping of binary numbers which makes it easier to read, write and understand. It is more human-friendly, as humans are used to grouping together numbers and things for easier understanding.

In The Art of Computer Programming, Donald Knuth [8, p. 202] notes that today's prevalent term for base 16, hexadecimal, is “a mixture of Greek and Latin stems,” ⁶ namely the Greek ἕξ (héx, “six”) and the Latin decem (“ten”).

Digits in hexadecimal use the standard symbols 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 to represent the corresponding value, and use the first six letters of the alphabet to represent the values 10 through 15 (E.G: A, B, C, D, E, F). In programming, we prefix hexadecimal constants with 0x , with some exceptions.

If so, you may know a thing or two about coding. Hex color codes are used by programmers, designers, and others to tell a computer which colors to display for a specific program or webpage. How do they work?

The decimal number system has a base of 10. It has only 10 notations, i.e., 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Whereas the hexadecimal system operates with a base of 16 because there are a total of 16 notations in it: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and A, B, C, D, E, F.

Other Uses

Hexadecimal is used extensively in assembly programming languages and in machine code. It is often used to refer to memory addresses. It can be used during the debugging stage of writing a computer program and to represent numbers stored in a CPU's registers or in main memory.

For example: 7B316,6F16,4B2A16 7 B 3 16 , 6 F 16 , 4 B 2 A 16 are hexadecimal numbers. A hexadecimal number system is also known as a positional number system as each digit has a weight of power 16.

Computers convert binary data into the hexadecimal (hex) number system because it is much less complex than converting data into decimal numbers, and it is much easier for human beings to read hex numbers than to read binary numbers.