Number Representations
The same number looks different depending on the base it is written in: 255 in decimal is FF in hexadecimal and 11111111 in binary. Converting by hand is error-prone once a value gets long.
TOOLS IN THIS CATEGORY
01 / LISTWHAT YOU CAN DO HERE
02 / OVERVIEWThis category holds tools about how numbers are written rather than what they measure. The converter covers base 2, 8, 10 and 16 in either direction.
Base conversion changes only how a value is written, never the value itself. Unit conversion changes the measurement system, and a timestamp converter changes how a moment in time is represented.
- Reading a color or memory address written in hexadecimal.
- Checking how a permission mask looks in binary.
- Turning a loosely specified base-N value into decimal before comparing it.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
03 / FAQWhich bases can I convert between?
Binary (2), octal (8), decimal (10) and hexadecimal (16), in any direction — the value is read in one base and written in the other.
Why is hex so common in programming?
Each hex digit maps to exactly four binary bits, so bytes line up neatly: 0xFF is one byte. Decimal has no such relationship with binary, which makes hex easier to read when the underlying data is bytes.