The term "hexadecimal notation" is spelled as /hɛksədɛsəməl nəʊˈteɪʃən/. In this word, the letter "h" is pronounced as /h/, while the "e" is pronounced as /ɛ/. The following letters "x" and "a" are pronounced as /ks/ and /ə/, respectively. The letter "d" is sounded out as /d/ and the "e" sound is repeated as /ɛ/. The "s" sound in "sem" is pronounced as /s/ while the "u" is pronounced as /ə/. Lastly, "notation" is pronounced with a hard "t" sound, /nəʊˈteɪʃən/.
Hexadecimal notation is a numerical representation system that uses a base-16 numbering system to express values. It is commonly employed in the fields of mathematics, computer science, and programming. The system utilizes 16 unique symbols, namely the numbers from 0 to 9 and the letters A to F, to represent different values.
In hexadecimal notation, each digit corresponds to a specific power of 16. The least significant digit is associated with 16^0, the next digit with 16^1, and so on. When values exceed nine, the letters A to F are used to represent the decimal values 10 to 15, respectively. For instance, the hexadecimal digit 'A' is equivalent to 10 in decimal notation.
The primary advantage of using hexadecimal notation lies in its ability to express large binary numbers more easily and concisely. Since hexadecimal is a base-16 system and binary is a base-2 system, each hexadecimal digit can represent four binary digits or bits. This property lends itself well to computer systems, where binary is commonly used in data storage and communications.
Hexadecimal notation is widely employed in computer programming as it provides a convenient and concise way to represent binary numbers. It is particularly prevalent in areas such as assembly language programming, memory addressing, and debugging where low-level operations and data structures are involved.
Overall, hexadecimal notation is a numerical representation system that utilizes 16 unique symbols to express values, making it beneficial for computer systems and programming due to its ability to represent binary numbers compactly and conveniently.
The word "hexadecimal" is derived from two Latin words: "hexa", meaning "six", and "decem", meaning "ten". The term was coined in the 1960s when computer scientists and mathematicians were developing a notation system with sixteen possible digits. The prefix "hexa-" refers to the base-16 system used in hexadecimal notation, which is a numeral system that uses sixteen distinct symbols (0-9 followed by A-F) to represent numbers. "Notation" refers to the way in which these symbols are used to represent values or data in a particular system. Hence, "hexadecimal notation" refers to the representation of numbers using the base-16 system.