UNIT 1

INTRODUCTION SESSION 6

SESSION 6: DATA REPRESENTATION

In this section we shall look at how different types of data such as

numbers, text graphics and sounds are represented by the computer.
We shall find out in this section that all types of data are represented by a
sequence of 0’s and 1’s called the binary system. The conversion of data
from one numbering system to the binary system would also be discussed
in this unit.

OBJECTIVES
By the end of the lesson you should be able to:

• Explain how data is represented by the computer

• Covert numbers in the decimal format to binary format
• Explain the following terms
• Byte
• Bit
• Word
• nibbles

Data Representation refers to the methods used internally to represent

information stored in a computer. Computers store lots of different types
of information such as:

• numbers
• text
• graphics of many varieties (stills, video, animation)
• sound

All these types of information stored are stored internally in a computer

in the same simple format: a sequence of 0's and 1's.

How can a sequence of 0's and 1's represent things as diverse as your
photograph, your favourite song, a recent movie, and your term paper?

It all depends on how we interpret the information. Computers use

numeric codes to represent all the information they store. These codes are
similar to those you may have used as a child to encrypt secret notes: let
1 stand for A, 2 stand for B, etc. With this code, any written message can
be represented numerically. The codes used by computers are a bit more
sophisticated, and they are based on the binary number system (base two)
instead of the more familiar (for the moment, at least!) decimal system.

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Computers use a variety of different codes. Some are used for numbers,
others for text, and still others for sound and graphics

Numbering Systems

Most modern computer systems do not represent numeric values using

the decimal system. Instead, they typically use a binary or two's
complement numbering system. To understand the limitations of
computer arithmetic, you must understand how computers represent
numbers.

A Review of the Decimal System

You've been using the decimal (base 10) numbering system for so long
that you probably take it for granted. When you see a number like "123",
you don't think about the value 123; rather, you generate a mental image
of how many items this value represents. In reality, however, the number
123 represents: 1*102 + 2 * 101 + 3*100 or 100+20+3

In the positional numbering system, each digit appearing to the left of the
decimal point represents a value between zero and nine times an
increasing power of ten. Digits appearing to the right of the decimal point
represent a value between zero and nine times an increasing negative
power of ten. For example, the value 123.456 means:

1*102 + 2*101 + 3*100 + 4*10-1 + 5*10-2 + 6*10-3

OR
100 + 20 + 3 + 0.4 + 0.05 + 0.006

The Binary Numbering System

Most modern computer systems (including PCs) operate using binary

logic. The computer represents values using two voltage levels (usually
0v and +2.4v - 2.5v). With two such levels we can represent exactly two
different values. These could be any two different values, but they
typically represent the values zero and one. These two values,
coincidentally, correspond to the two digits used by the binary numbering
system. Since there is a correspondence between the logic levels used by
the 80x86 and the two digits used in the binary numbering system, it
should come as no surprise that the PC employs the binary numbering
system.

The binary numbering system works just like the decimal numbering
system, with two exceptions: binary only allows the digits 0 and 1 (rather
than 0-9), and binary uses powers of two rather than powers of ten.

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Therefore, it is very easy to convert a binary number to decimal. For each

"1" in the binary string, add in 2n where "n" is the zero-based position of
the binary digit. For example, the binary value 110010102 represents:

1*27 + 1*26 + 0*25 + 0*24 + 1*23 + 0*22 + 1*21 +

0*20 =128 + 64 + 8 + 2 =20210
To convert decimal to binary is slightly more difficult. You must find
those powers of two which, when added together, produce the decimal
result. One method is to work from a large power of two down to 20.
Consider the decimal value 1359:

• 210 =1024, 211=2048. So 1024 is the largest power of two less than
1359. Subtract 1024 from 1359 and begin the binary value on the
left with a "1" digit. Binary = "1", Decimal result is 1359 - 1024 =
335.
• The next lower power of two (29 = 512) is greater than the result
from above, so add a "0" to the end of the binary string.
Binary = "10", Decimal result is still 335.
• The next lower power of two is 256 (28). Subtract this from 335
and add a "1" digit to the end of the binary number.
Binary = "101", Decimal result is 79.
• 128 (27) is greater than 79, so tack a "0" to the end of the binary
string. Binary = "1010", Decimal result remains 79.
• The next lower power of two (26 = 64) is less than79, so subtract
64 and append a "1" to the end of the binary string. Binary =
"10101", Decimal result is 15.
• 15 is less than the next power of two (25 = 32) so simply add a "0"
to the end of the binary string. Binary = "101010", Decimal result
is still 15.
• 16 (24) is greater than the remainder so far, so append a "0" to the
end of the binary string. Binary = "1010100",
Decimal result is 15.
• 23 (eight) is less than 15, so stick another "1" digit on the end of
the binary string. Binary = "10101001", Decimal result is 7.
• 22 is less than seven, so subtract four from seven and append
another one to the binary string. Binary = "101010011",
decimal result is 3.
• 21 is less than three, so append a one to the end of the binary
string and subtract two from the decimal value.
Binary = "1010100111", Decimal result is now 1.
• Finally, the decimal result is one, which is 20, so add a final "1" to
the end of the binary string. The final binary result is
"10101001111"

If you actually have to convert a decimal number to binary by hand, the

algorithm above probably isn't the easiest to master. A simpler solution is

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the "even/odd - divide by two" algorithm. This algorithm uses the

following steps:

• If the number is even, emit a zero. If the number is odd, emit a

one.
• Divide the number by two and throw away any fractional
component or remainder.
• If the quotient is zero, the algorithm is complete.
• If the quotient is not zero and is odd, insert a one before the
current string; if the number is even, prefix your binary string
with zero.
• Go back to step two above and repeat.

Fortunately, you'll rarely need to convert decimal numbers directly to

binary strings, so neither of these algorithms is particularly important in
real life.

Binary numbers, although they have little importance in high level

languages, appear everywhere in assembly language programs (even if
you don't convert between decimal and binary). So you should be
somewhat comfortable with them.

Binary Formats

In the purest sense, every binary number contains an infinite number of

digits (or bits which is short for binary digits). For example, we can
represent the number five by:

101 00000101 0000000000101

... 000000000000101

Any number of leading zero bits may precede the binary number without
changing its value.

We will adopt the convention of ignoring any leading zeros if present in a

value. For example, 1012 represents the number five but since the 80x86
works with groups of eight bits, we'll find it much easier to zero extend
all binary numbers to some multiple of four or eight bits. Therefore,
following this convention, we'd represent the number five as 01012 or
000001012.

In the United States, most people separate every three digits with a
comma to make larger numbers easier to read. For example,
1,023,435,208 is much easier to read and comprehend than 1023435208.
We'll adopt a similar convention in this text for binary numbers. We will
separate each group of four binary bits with an underscore. For example,
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we will write the binary value 1010111110110010 as

1010_1111_1011_0010.

We often pack several values together into the same binary number. One
form of the 80x 86 MOV instructions uses the binary encoding 1011 0rrr
dddd dddd to pack three items into 16 bits: a five-bit operation code
(1_0110), a three-bit register field (rrr), and an eight-bit immediate value
(dddd_dddd). For convenience, we'll assign a numeric value to each bit
position. We'll number each bit as follows:

1) The rightmost bit in a binary number is bit position zero.

2) Each bit to the left is given the next successive bit number.

An eight-bit binary value uses bits zero through seven:

X7 X6 X5 X4 X3 X2 X1 X0

A 16-bit binary value uses bit positions zero through fifteen:

X15 X14 X13 X12 X11 X10 X9 X8 X7 X6 X5 X4 X3 X2 X1 X0

A 32-bit binary value uses bit positions zero through 31, etc.

Bit zero is usually referred to as the low order (L.O.) bit (some refer to
this as the least significant bit). The left-most bit is typically called the
high order (H.O.) bit (or the most significant bit). We'll refer to the
intermediate bits by their respective bit numbers.
Note:
Hexadecimal is often abbreviated as hex even though, technically
speaking, hex means base six, not base sixteen.

DATA ORGANIZATION

Bits

The smallest "unit" of data on a binary computer is a single bit. Since a

single bit is capable of representing only two different values (typically
zero or one) you may get the impression that there are a very small
number of items you can represent with a single bit. Not true! There are
an infinite number of items you can represent with a single bit.

With a single bit you can represent any two distinct items. Examples
include zero or one true or false on or off male or female and right or
wrong. However you are not limited to representing binary data types
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(that is those objects which have only two distinct values). You could use
a single bit to represent the numbers 723 and 1 245. Or perhaps 6 254
and 5. You could also use a single bit to represent the colours red and
blue. You could even represent two unrelated objects with a single bit.

Nibbles

A nibble is a collection of four bits. It wouldn't be a particularly

interesting data structure except for two items: BCD (binary coded
decimal) numbers and hexadecimal numbers. It takes four bits to
represent a single BCD or hexadecimal digit. With a nibble we can
represent up to 16 distinct values.

In the case of hexadecimal numbers the values 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C

D E and F are represented with four bits (see "The Hexadecimal
Numbering System"). BCD uses ten different digits (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9)
and requires four bits. In fact any sixteen distinct values can be
represented with a nibble but hexadecimal and BCD digits are the
primary items we can represent with a single nibble.

Bytes

Without question the most important data structure used by the 80x86
microprocessor is the byte. A byte consists of eight bits and is the
smallest addressable datum (data item) on the 80x86 microprocessor.
Main memory and I/O addresses on the 80x86 are all byte addresses.
This means that the smallest item that can be individually accessed by an
80x 86 programs is an eight-bit value.

Note that a byte also contains exactly two nibbles:

Words

A word is a group of 16 bits. We'll number the bits in a word starting

from zero on up to fifteen. The bit numbering appears below:

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Naturally a word may be further broken down into four nibbles as shown
below:

1.2.5 Double Words

A double word is exactly what its name implies a pair of words.

Therefore a double word quantity is 32 bits long as shown below:

Self-Assessment Question

1. All data stored in the computer are in the form of 0’s and
1’s …………. (True/False)
2. The numbering system used by the computer is the
…………….
3. Arrange the following in order of hierarchy

Byte, Words, Bit, Nibbles

Exercises:

4. Write short notes under the following

a. bits
b. byte
c. words
5. how would the following numbers be represented by the
computer
a. 2345
b. 354
c. 786

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This is a blank sheet for your short notes on:

• Difficult topics if any

• Issues that are not clear

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