DATA

REPRESENTATI
ON
BINARY AND HEXADECIMAL
BINARY AND HEXADECIMAL
Humans process a large amount of data on a daily basis. As
humans, we process data that is called analogue data.
Everything we see, hear, feel and smell is continuous
stream of analogue data to our senses.
Analogue data is a continuous stream of data that is
processed by humans.
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
The components that process data in a computer are made
up of very small logic gates. Logic gate is a very small
component in a computer system that controls the
flow of electricity. These gates cannot process analogue
data, they can only process digital data. This data is stored
in registers. Register is a small component in a
computer system that is used to temporarily store
data. Digital data is discrete data that only uses the
values 0 and 1. Any data that we want a computer to
process must be converted into digital data. This type
of data is also called binary data.
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
NUMBER SYSTEMS
In our daily lives we mostly use a denary number system. This is called
a base-10 number system and uses the digits 0 – 9. The units in a
denary number system are ones, tens, hundreds and thousands. Each
time the unit increases by the power of 10.
Computers use a binary number system. This is called a base-2
number system and uses the digits 0 and 1. The units in a binary
number system increase by the power of 2.
Any denary values need to be converted to binary values so that
they can be processed by a computer.
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
CONVERTING BETWEEN DENARY AND BINARY
NUMBERS
The size of a binary number is referred to by the number of
bits it has. A 4-bit binary number will have 4 values that are
either 1 or 0, for example, 1001. An 8-bit binary number will
have 8 values that are also either 1 or 0. Binary values can
get very large, some have as many as 64 bits.
To convert denary numbers to 4-bit binary the units that you
need to use are 1, 2, 4 and 8. You can indicate with a 1 or a
0 whether that unit is required.
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
To convert the denary number 13 to a 4-bit binary number you can use the
following steps:
Write down the binary units from 8 to 1. An easy way to do this is using a table.
8 4 2 1

The units increase by the power of 2 each time.

Compare the denary number 13 to the first binary unit 8 to see whether it is
equal to or greater than the denary number. 13 is greater than 8, which means
that the unit 8 is required and you can write a 1 beneath it. 8 can then
subtracted from the denary value 13-8=5
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
8 4 2 1
1

Now compare the denary number 5 to the next binary unit 4

to see whether it is equal to or greater than the denary
number. 5 is greater than 4, which means that the unit 4 is
required and you can write a 1 beneath it . 4 can then be
subtracted
8 from
4 the denary2value 5-4=1 1
1 1
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
Then compare the denary number 1 to the next binary unit
2 to see whether it is equal to or greater than the denary
number. 1 is not greater than 2, which means that the unit 2
is not required and you can write a 0 beneath it . No
subtraction
8 is 4needed this time
2 as you haven’t
1 used the unit.
1 1 0
BINARY AND HEXADECIMAL(cont…)

Finally, compare the denary number 1 to the last unit 1 to

see whether it is equal to or greater than the denary
number. 1 is equal to 1, which means that the unit is
required and you can write a 1 beneath it. 1 can then be
subtracted
8 from
4 the denary2 value. 1-1=01
1 1 0 1

This means that if you convert the denary number 13 to 4-

bit binary, you get the binary number 1101.
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
To convert denary numbers to 8-bit binary the units that you
need to use are 1, 2, 4, 8,16, 32, 64, 128. You can indicate,
again, with a 1 or a 0 whether that unit is required. For
example, if you convert the denary number 150 to an 8-bit
binary number you can use the same method as before:
Write
128 down
64 the
32 binary
16 units
8 from 4128 to21: 1
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
Compare the denary number 150 to the first binary unit 128
to see whether it is equal to or greater than the denary
number. 150 is greater than 128, which means that the unit
128 is required and you can write a 1 beneath it. 128 can
then
128 be64
subtracted
32 from
16 the
8 denary
4 value,
2 150-128=22
1
1
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
Next, compare the denary number 22 to the next binary unit
64 to see whether it is equal to or greater than the denary
number. 22 is not greater than 64, which means that the
unit 64 is not required and you can write a 0 beneath it. No
subtraction
128 64 is 32
needed16this time
8 as4you haven’t
2 used
1 the unit.
1 0
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
Then compare the denary number 22 to the next binary unit
32 to see whether it is equal to or greater than the denary
number. 22 is not greater than 32, which means that the
unit 32 is not required and you can write a 0 beneath it. No
subtraction
128 64 is 32
needed16this time
8 as4you haven’t
2 used
1 the unit.
1 0 0
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
Now, continue this process until you have compared all the
binary units. Remember to subtract the unit from the
denary number if it is required. You should end with the
following
128 64 result:
32 16 8 4 2 1
1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0

This means that if you convert the denary number 150 to 8-

bit binary, you get the binary number 10010110
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
A quick check that you can do on your calculation is to look
at the last unit on the right of your binary number. If the
denary number you are converting is an odd number, this
number should be 1. if the denary number you are
converting is an even number, this number should be 0.
If you need to convert a binary number into a denary
number, you can use simple addition. You just need to add
together all the units that are represented by the value 1.
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
To convert the binary number 1010. A simple way to do this
is to use a table. You can write the units above and the
binary
8 number4 below: 2 1
1 0 1 0

You just need to add together all the units that have a 1
below. This means the calculation is 8+2=10. Therefore, if
you are converting the binary number 1010 to denary, you
get the denary number 10.
 BINARY AND
HEXADECIMAL(cont…)
To convert an 8-bit binary number, you need to extend the
units so that you have 8 of them. Remember to increase by
the power of 2 each time.
To convert the binary number 10011001. You can write the
values
128 in
64 a table
32 again
16 to make
8 it 4clearer:
2 1
1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1

You just need to add together all the units again that have a
1 below. This means the calculation is 128+16+8+1=153.
So binary number 10011001 = 153
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS
Binary addition
You need to be able to add together two 8-bit binary numbers. For binary
addition, starting at the least significant position still applies
When binary numbers are added together there are four rules that you
will need to use:
Rule 1 is 0+0=0
Rule 2 is 1+0=1
Rule 3 is 1+1=10 (this is because 10 in binary is 2)
Rule 4 is 1+1+1=11 (this is because 11 in binary is 3)
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)
You can apply these rules to add the binary numbers 10010100
and 00011110
1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
+ 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You need to start at the right and begin applying the rules. The
first calculation is 0+0 . Rule 1
The next calculation is 1+1 . Rule 2 means the result is 1.
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND NEGATIVE
NUMBERS(Cont….)

1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
+ 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 0
The next calculation is 1+1. Rule 3 means the result is 10. You
need to write the 0 in the answer section and carry the 1 to the
next calculation.
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

1
1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
+ 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 1 0
The next calculation is 1+0+1, which results in 1+1. Rule 3
means the result is 10. Write the 0 in the answer section again
and carry the 1.
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

1 1
1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
+ 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 0 1 0
The next calculation is 1+1+1. Rule 4 means the result is
11. Write 1 in the answer section and carry 1.
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

1 1 1
1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
+ 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 0 0 1 0
The next calculation is 1+0+0, which results in 1+0. Rule 2
means the result is 1. Write 1 in the answer section. There is no
carry this time.
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

1 1 1
1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
+ 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 1 0 0 1 0
The next calculation is 0+0. Rule 1 means the result is 0.
Write 0 in the answer section.
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

1 1 1
1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
+ 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 1 1 0 0 1 0
The final calculation is 1+0. Rules 2 means the result is 1.
Write 1 in the answer section.
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

1 1 1
1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
+ 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0
Therefore, when the binary numbers 10010100 and
00011110 are added, the answer is 10110010
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

Exercise
Perform the following calculation:
11010101+00011111
Write down your workings before you reveal the answer.
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

Answer: 11110100
Workings:
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

Overflow error
Overflow error is a type of error that occurs when a number
larger than a register can store is generated.
Note that in 8-bit arithmetic, if the addition of the leftmost
bits produces a carry, then the result will exceed the
available number of bits. This is called an overflow error.
With 8-bit numbers, overflow errors occur when the result is
larger than 11111111 (255).
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)
The following example shows the calculation 11010111​+11110000

The result needs nine bits (1110001112), so an overflow error occurs.

 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

The above example the number cannot fit in the 8-bit

register and an overflow error is created.
Each computer has a predefined limit, for example, 16-bit
registers. What is the largest number that could be stored
in a 16-bit register? If a number larger than this is
generated in a process, an overflow error will occur.
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

Logical binary shifts

Another process that can occur with binary numbers that
are stored in a register is called a logical binary shift. This
kind of shift can move the binary values in the number to
left or to the right.
Consider
0 0 the binary
1 number:
0 1 1 0 0
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

If a logical shift to the left is performed on the binary number, each

value in the binary number is moved one place to the left. The
result would be:
0 1 0 1 1 0 0

You should notice that the left most 0 has been removed
from the register. This is because there was no place to the left to
shift this value. You should also notice that there is now an empty
section in the register at the right. When a binary number is
shifted,
0 the
1 resulting
0 empty
1 sections
1 0are filled
0 with0 a 0
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

If you convert the first binary number to denary, you get the
denary number 44. If you convert the binary number after the
logical left shift has been performed, you get the denary number
88. This means that each logical shift to the left multiples the
binary number by 2. Consider the binary number again:
0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0

If a logical shift to the right is performed on the binary number,

each value in the binary number is moved one place to the right.
The result
0 would 0 be: 1 0 1 1 0
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

You should notice that the right most 0 has been removed from the
register. This is because there was no place to the right to shift this
value. You should also notice that there is now an empty section in the
register at the left. When a binary number is shifted, the resulting
empty sections are, again, filled with a 0
0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0

You are already know that the first binary number converted to a denary
number is 44. If you convert the binary number after the logical shift
has been performed, you get the denary 22. This means that each
logical shift to the right divides the binary number by 2.
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)
Consider another binary number:
1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
When a logical left shift is performed on the binary value the result is:
1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
When the first binary number is converted to a denary number, the result is
236. When the binary number is converted after the logical shift to the left
has been performed, the denary value is 216. You should notice that 236
multiplied by 2 is not 216. Therefore, one of the problems with a logical
shift is that data can lose its integrity as vital bits can be removed
from the register.
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

Negative binary numbers

How are negative numbers represented as binary? Binary only has two
values that can be used, a 0 and a 1, so you can’t just put a minus
symbol (-) in front of the number, as that symbol doesn’t exist in binary.
Therefore, a method exists that can be used to represent negative
binary numbers and it is called two’s complement. Most modern
computers use this method.
The method of two’s complement is a simple one. First you invert all
the values in the binary number (change the 1s to 0s and the 0s to 1s),
then you add 1 to the result.
 BINARY MANIPULATION AND
NEGATIVE NUMBERS(Cont….)

There are three widely used systems for representing both

positive and negative numbers.
• Sign and magnitude
• Ones complement
• Two’s complement
In all three systems, the conversion used is to represent
the +(plus) by 0 (zero) and - (minus) by 1(one). So 0 bit is
for positive numbers and 1 for negative number.
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND?

The computers process only binary. This means that all data
must be converted to binary to be processed by a computer.
You have already looked at converting numbers, but text,
images and sound all have to be converted to binary too, so
they can be pressed by a computer.
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

When a computer converts text to binary to be processed it

uses a tool called a character set. There are two main
types of character set that a computer can use. ASCII and
Unicode. An ASCII character set represents characters
using 8-bit binary numbers. This means that it can
represent up to 256 characters (0 to 255).
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

This is fine for certain languages, but some languages have

an alphabet that requires more than 256 character,
therefore, Unicode was invented. ASCII normally uses 8
bits (1 byte) to store each character. However, the 8th
bit is used as a check digit, meaning that only 7 bits
are available to store each character.
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

A Unicode character set represents characters using 16-bit

binary numbers. This means it can represent a much
greater number of characters, approximately 65000. This
means that many more characters can be developed in
different alphabets and also symbols such as emojis can also
be used.
Each character has a set binary value, for example, the
letter A is 01000001
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

The benefit of using ASCII, each character only

takes up 8bits, meaning that storing data in ASCII
may take up less memory than Unicode.
Unicode is that at its maximum it can accommodate a
huge number of character. Contains most written
languages and still has room for even more: English,
Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and the many other variants.
The aim of Unicode is to be able to represent any
possible text in code form.
HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

ASCII values can take many forms:

• Numbers
• Letters (capitals and lower case are separate)
• Punctuation (?/|\£$ etc.)
• non-printing commands (enter, escape, F1)
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

Exercises
1. Without using the crib table answer the following questions.
The ASCII code for the letter ‘D’ is 1000100 what is the letter
‘G’ stored as
Ans.: 1000111 as it is 3 characters further on in the alphabet.
2. The ASCII Code for the letter ‘s’ is 1110011, what is the letter
‘m’ stored as
Ans.:1101101 as it is 6 character down in the alphabet 1110011
- 0110
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

3.You are designing a computer system for use worldwide,

what character encoding scheme should you use and why?

Answer: Unicode as it would allow you to display non Latin

character sets such as Hindi and Cyrillic
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

4. How many ASCII 'characters' does the following piece of text use:
Hello Pete,
ASCII rocks!
Answer: 27 or 26. If you said 23 you'd be wrong because you must
include the non-printing characters at the end of each line. Each end of
line needs a EOL command, and a new line needs a carriage return (CR),
making the text like so:
Hello Pete, [EOL][CR]
ASCII rocks! [EOL]
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

Converting images to binary

An image is made up of tiny dots called pixels. If an image
was simply created using the colors black and white, each
pixel would be either black or white. The binary value 1
could be used to represent the color black and the
binary value 0 could be used to represent the color
white.
In order to store images on a computer, we need to have
some way of encoding them using a binary representation.
This means that all images stored on your computer are
made up of a long string of 1s and 0s.
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

One type of image stored on a computer is called a bitmap.

All bitmap images are split into a grid of squares (picture
elements), each called a pixel. The color of each square is
then stored as a single binary value.
The fundamental concept underlying the creation of a
bitmap file is that the picture element (pixel) is the
smallest identifiable component of a bitmap image.
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

The type of data that is used to provide information, such as

the dimensions and resolution of an image is called
metadata.
Metadata is additional data that is stored with an
image that can provide information such as the
dimensions of the image and the time and date the
image was taken.
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

Most images use a lot more colors than black and white.
Each color has its own binary values. Colors are created
by computer screens using the Red Green Blue (RGB)
color system. This system mixes the colors red, green and
blue in different amounts to achieve each color.
Most images are created using thousands of pixels. Each of
those pixels needs quite a lot of data. Multiply that by the
thousands of pixels that make up the image and that is a
huge amount of data. This is why image files can often be so
large in size.
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

Each image has a resolution and a color depth. The

resolution is the number of pixels wide and the
number of pixels high that are used to create the
image. The color depth is the number of bits that are
used to represent each color. The greater the number of
bits, the greater the range of colors that can be
represented. If the color depth of an image is reduced, the
quality of the image is often reduced.
If the resolution is increased, the image will be created
using more pixels, so more data will need to be stored.
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

The following binary sequence could be used to store this

simple picture of a fish. 0001 0000 1001 1001 1101 1100
1111 0110 1111 1110 1101 1100 1001 1000 0001 0000
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

File size
Width of image x height of image x color depth of
image x number of images in file
OR
File size (bits) = width x height x color depth
OR
File size = image resolution x color depth
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

When give the colors

Colors = 2n bits
That n bits can be considered as color depth.
1)For a color depth of 8 bits, how many colors could be each
pixel store? 28=256
2)To represent 1024 colors per pixel, what color depth would I
need?
Ans.:210=1024 color depth is 10 bits
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

If you have the following information about an image file:

• 10 images in the file
• Image resolution is 100 x 150
• Color depth is 8-bit color
You can calculate the size of the image file as:
100 x 150 x 8 x 10 = 1200000 bits
If we need the solution in KiB 1200000 bits : 8 bits = 150000 Bytes
: 1024 = 146.5 KiB
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

Exercise
1.The finished logo is 500 pixels by 1000 pixels and uses
35 different colors. Estimate the file size for the logo. Give
your answer in Kilobytes. Show your working.
2. A picture has width 2048 pixels and height 512 pixels.
It is saved as a 256 colors image. Calculate the file size in
Kilobytes. Show your working
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

Converting sound to binary

Sound is made up of sound waves. When sound is recorded, this is

done at set time intervals. This process is known as sound sampling.
Sound sampling is a little piece of sound that is recorded at
regular time intervals.
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

In practice, for coding sound, two decisions have to be made. The first
is the number of bits to be used to store the amplitude values,
which defines the sampling resolution.
If only three bits are used then eight levels can be defined. The other
decision concerns the choice of the sampling rate, which is the
number of samples taken per second.
Once again file size can be an issue. Clearly an increased sampling
rate and an increased sampling resolution will both cause an
increase in file size. This improve the accuracy of the recorded
sound.
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)
Sample rate is the number of samples taken per second.
Sample resolution is the number of bits assigned to each sample. The
sample resolution allows to set the range of volume storable for each
sample.
Bit rate is the number of bits required to store 1 second of sound.
To work out the size of a sound sample requires the following equation:
File size=sample rate * sample resolution * length of sound
This is the same as saying:
File size=Bit rate * length of sound
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

Hertz is unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per

second of period phenomenon.
Example: if you wanted to record a 30 second voice message
on your mobile phone you would use the following.
Sample rate=8000HZ
Sample resolution =16bit
Length of sound=30seconds
Total file size=8000*16*30=3840000bits = 480000bytes.
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

2. Work out the sample rate of the following sound file.

Sound file=100000bits
Sample resolution=10bits
Length of sound = 5seconds
HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

Converting Analogue to Digital Sound

The following image demonstrates how sound files are
created when they are inputted through devices such as a
microphone:
HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)
 HOW DO COMPUTERS REPRESENT
TEXT, IMAGE AND SOUND? (Cont…)

Input and output to a computer are often analogue, but all processing
is done with digital data, so conversion is needed.
Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) Converts analogue sound into
digital signals that can be stored on a computer.
Digital to Analogue Converter (DAC) converts digital stored on a
computer into analogue sound that can be played through devices
such as speaker.
Analogue data is continuous, allowing for infinite number of possible
values. Digital data is discrete, allowing for a finite set of value.
 MEASURING DATA STORAGE

Unit Description
Bit This is the smallest measurement for data
Nibble There are 4 bits in a nibble
Byte There are 8 bits in a byte
Kibibyte (KiB) There are 1024 bytes in a Kibibyte
Mebibyte (MiB) There are 1024 Kibibytes in a Mebibyte
Gibibyte (GiB) There are 1024 Mebibytes in a Gibibyte
Tebibyte (TiB) There are 1024 Gibibytes in a Tebibytes
Pebibyte (PiB) There are 1024 Tebibytes in a Pebibyte
Exbibyte(EiB) There are 1024 Pebibytes in a Exbibyte
 DATA COMPRESSION
Data compression
Compression is a method that uses an algorithm to reduce the size
of a file.
Compressing a file will reduce the size of the file that can have several
benefits, such as:
Not as much storage space is needed to store the file.
It will take less time to transmit the file from one device to another.
It will be quicker to upload and download the file
Not as much bandwidth is needed to transmit the file over the Internet.
 DATA COMPRESSION
(Cont…)
There two type of compression that can be used, lossy and lossless.
Each compress the data in a different way.
Lossy compression uses a compression algorithm that finds the
unnecessary and redundant data in the file. This data is
permanently removed from the file. This type of compression is
mainly used on an image file or a sound file.
Unnecessary data in an image file that could be removed are colors that
the human eye cannot distinguish. This means that a lossy compression
algorithm for an image file could reduce the size of the file by reducing
the color depth.
 DATA COMPRESSION
(Cont…)
It could also reduce the size of the file by reducing the
image resolution, reducing the number of pixels used
to create the image.
Unnecessary data in a sound file that could be removed are
sounds that cannot be heard by the human ear. It could
also be the removal of softer sounders that are played at the
same time as louder sounds, as humans will only hear the
louder sound.
 DATA COMPRESSION
(Cont…)
The method that is used to find these kinds of sounds in
sound file is called perceptual music shaping. This is the
most common type of method that is used in the file format
MP3. The file of a sound file can also be reduced by
reducing the sample rate and the sample resolution.
Perceptual music shaping refers to the process of
removing inaudible sounds in order to make a file size
smaller. Inaudible sounds may include: Noises at
frequencies that humans cannot hear. Quiet sounds that
cannot be heard over louder sounds.
 DATA COMPRESSION
(Cont…)
Lossless compression uses a compression algorithm to
reduce the size of the file, without permanently
removing any data. A common method that can be used to
do this is by finding repeating data in the file and grouping
this data together.
Consider the following message:
WHEN IT IS SNOWING HEAVILY LOOK OUTSIDE
LOOK OUTSIDE IT IS SNOWING HEAVILY
 DATA COMPRESSION
(Cont…)
Excluding the spaces between the words and the full stop,
the message has a total of 62 characters. 1 character
require 1 byte of storage, so 62 bytes of storage would be
needed to store this message.
When you look at the message, you should notice that it
consists of words that are mostly repeated. Instead of
storing all 62 characters individually, the words and the
positions at which they occur in the message can be stored
in a lookup table,
 DATA COMPRESSION
(Cont…)
Word Position in the message
WHEN 1
IT 2, 10
IS 3, 11
SNOWING 4, 12
HEAVILY 5, 13
LOOK 6, 8
OUTSIDE 7, 9
 DATA COMPRESSION
(Cont…)
The look up table needs 1 byte for each character in
each word and 1 byte for each position the word
occurs in the message. Therefore 33 bytes are needed
to store the words and 13 bytes to store the positions,
giving a total of 46 bytes. This is much less than the 62
bytes we required with our original method. No data has
been lost and we have reduced our storage
requirements by 26%, quite a saving! To recreate the
message, the computer simply retrieves the words and
places them in the position allocated.
 DATA COMPRESSION
(Cont…)
A similar process can be applied to an image file with a
lossless compression algorithm called Run Length
Encoding(RLE). This algorithm will group together
repeating pixels and store how many times they occur.
Run Length Encoding(RLE) is an algorithm that
groups together repeating patterns and indexed them.
 DATA COMPRESSION
(Cont…)
The repeating string (a run) is encoded into two values.
• One value represents the number of (identical) characters
in the run (the run count).
• The other value is the code of the character / color code of
pixel etc. in the run (the run value).
 DATA COMPRESSION
(Cont…)
(iii) The following diagrams show:
• The denary color code that represents each color
• The first three rows of a bitmap image
DATA COMPRESSION
(Cont…)
 DATA COMPRESSION
(Cont…)
Show how RLE will compress the first three rows of this
image.
Row 1: 153 10 255 3 153
3................................................................................
Row 2: 153 9 255 6 153
1..................................................................................
Row 3: 153 7 255
9.........................................................................
 DATA COMPRESSION
(Cont…)
Exercises
Calculate the saved space for
ASK NOT WHAT YOUR FRIEND CAN DO FOR YOU ASK
WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR FRIEND