Bitsand-Bytes - AMSTRAD cpc 6128 User Instruction

In any case, the computer would have to wait a finite time for one task to have
finished before it can start work on the result of that first task - so there would need to
be some artificial delay imposed anyway. The digital process is black or white, and
the stages of transition via the various shades of grey have
NO
significance
whatso~ver.
Conversely, the linear or 'analogue' progression IS via the shades of
grey.
If the ultimate answer is either 0 or 1, then there is no possibility of it being 'nearly'
correct. The fact that computers can sometimes appear to make errors when handling
numeric data is due to the limitation of the size of numbers it can process, requiring
'oversized' data to be squeezed down to fit the space available, or 'truncated', leading
to rounding errors. e.g. 999 ,999 ,999 becomes 1,000,000,000.
In a world where the only two numbers available are 0 or 1, how then do you count
beyond1?
Bits and Bytes
We just happen to be used to understanding numbers based on the decimal system
where the reference point is the number 10 - i.e. there are ten digits available to
represent quantities in range from 0 to 9 (which is used in preference to the
expression 1 to 10). The system where numbers range from 0 to 1 is the binary system,
and the units in which the system operates are called bits - an abbreviated form of
'Binary digIT'.
The relationship between bits and decimal notation is simple to understand:
It's conventional to declare the maximum number of binary digits being used by
adding leading zeros to make up the number to the full number of bits:
e.g. decimal
7
becomes:
00111 binary
.... using 5 bit notation.
In the binary system, the figures may be considered merely as indicators in columns
to specify whether or not a given power of2 is present; 1 =yes, O=no.
2°
=
1
21 = 2 = 2 = 2(2°)
22 = 4 = 2x2 = 2(2 1 )
2
3
= 8 = 2x2x2 = 2(2 2 )
24 = 16 = 2x2x2x2 = 2(2
3
)
At your leisure ....
Chapter 9 Page 9