Data representation

Data is information coded in a format ready for processing, it is raw facts (not processed) and figures
in the form of numbers, symbols, or alphanumeric characters.

Humans use analogue data meaning smooth stream of data that our senses process daily, such as
sound wave. Computers cannot process analogue data they are only capable processing digital
data.
Denary, binary, and hexadecimal systems are positional meaning that the different symbols can’t be
moved from their position with the total number. Ex. 81 and 18

DENARY SYSTEM

A system of numbers with a base of 10 (because it is made of 10 symbols), each unit increases by
the power of 10.
Symbols: 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9

BINARY SYSTEM

A system of numbers with a base of 2, each unit increase by the power of 2.

Symbols: 0 - 1

The binary value represents the current flowing through a circuit: 1 means current is flowing, 0 means
it is not.

Computers use a binary number system. Most computer systems have storage which is measured
in bytes (B) = eight binary digits long. 1 character (number, letter, symbol) = 1 bit (b).
Byte (B) - Kilobyte (KB) - Megabyte (MB) - Gigabyte (GB) - Terabyte (TB). Aumentano a 1024.

A register is a small piece of memory built into the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer
system where values and instructions are temporarily held. Although they are small in capacity,
registers have an extremely fast read and write rate, meaning data can be written to and read from
a register much quicker than from primary memory or secondary storage. Computer systems use
registers to hold values and instructions for processing, to increase the speed at which they can be
processed.

There are different types of register:

• Processor registers, for example the program counter (PC), the accumulator (AC) and the
memory address register (MAR), The fast speed of action makes registers suitable for
situations where small amounts of data need to be accessed quickly (calculations).
• Hardware registers are specific to different types of hardware and are used to convey a signal
ex. 1 if the robot is on, 0 if the robot is off.

HEXADECIMAL SYSTEM

Programmers work with hexadecimal as it is easier for humans to read than binary = shorter way of
representing a byte of data.

Programs that are written in hexadecimal are easier to debug than those written in binary.

A system of numbers with a base of 16, each unit increase by the power of 16.
 Symbols: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - A - B - C - D - E - F. There are letters because symbols
could not be repeated. A = 10 / B = 11 / C = 12 / D = 13 / E = 14 / F = 15.

• Hexadecimal is used as a notation for color in HTML. Hex color notations are normally six
digits, and each hex notation represents a different color. Ex. FFAA33.
• Standard Windows error message codes are given in hexadecimal notation, for example
error code 404 (meaning 'File not found') is a hexadecimal notation.
• Media Access Control (MAC) addresses are 12-digit hexadecimal numbers that uniquely
identify each different device in a network.
• Hexadecimal is used for machine code as each byte can be coded as two hexadecimal
symbols.

DATA STORAGE

All data stored on a computer is in binary form. If we had to carry out our daily tasks on a computer
using only binary it would be extremely time consuming and challenging.

TEXT, NUMBERS, SYMBOLS

There are two systems commonly used for character representation, namely ASCII and Unicode.
• ASCII uses only 8 bits, giving a possible 256 characters. Suitable for Standard English but
does not contain a large enough character set for some other languages. A character will
take 1 byte of storage space.
• Unicode is used as it contains many more characters. Unicode uses 16 bits, giving 65 536
possible characters. A character takes up 2 bytes of storage space.

PICTURES
An image as we see it is analogue data, but a computer will only understand it if it is digital data. To
convert we use a digital camera or a scanner.
Metadata = what tells the computer how many pixels wide and how many pixels high an image
should be. ex. 11 x 12 = resolution

• If an image was simply black and white, each pixel would either be black or white. A 1 would
represent a black pixel and a O would represent a white pixel. Each pixel will take one bit of
storage space.
• If an image is colored. Computer needs further binary data to represent the color of each
pixel. Most colors are made up of red, green and blue in the GB color system. In this system
the shade of each color will be represented in a byte for each. Therefore, images can become
large files. Each pixel will take 8 bits of storage space.

SOUND
Sound is recorded at set timed intervals; this process is known as sampling. The samples are then
converted into binary.

If the set timed intervals are closer together, the soundtrack will be higher in quality. This is because
when the sound is played back it has more data to help create a most accurate sound.

Sample rates are measured in hertz. 1 hertz equals 1 sample per second. A telephone
communication samples a voice at 8000Hz but a higher quality recording, such as a CD, samples
music at 44 100Hz.

FILE FORMATS
A file format is the method that we choose to store different data on a computer.
It is important for software to recognize the file format used to save the data in order to access it.
The file format is normally three or four characters, separated from the file name with a dot, and is
known as the file extension.

There are four multimedia standard file formats that you should be aware of:
• Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) uses a series of protocols and interfaces that allow
lots of different types of musical instrument to connect and communicate.
• Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) is a standard format for lossy compression of
images.
• MP3 is a standard format for lossy compression of audio files.
• MP4 is a standard format for lossy compression of video files.