Binary code can provide a way to simplify the representation of information. In a binary code, there are only two digits: one and zero. Typical binary codes use sequences of ones and zeros to represent letters, numbers, or other concepts. An example is the binary representations of the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), where each sequence of eight characters is capable of representing any of 256 different variations. Binary codes are often used in computing and other electronic devices, although they have been present in other forms throughout human history as well.
Binary code uses only ones and zeros for basic computer programming.
For a binary code to represent text, computer processor instructions, or other information, it must be broken down into discrete strings. They are often called bit strings and can be fixed-length or dynamic. In this context, bit refers to each binary digit, so an eight-character binary code sequence would contain eight bits of information. Using different encodings or character sets, bit strings like these can represent many different things.
One form of binary code is Braille, which uses groups of six dots to represent letters or numbers.
Computers and other electronic devices use what are known as flip-flop circuits to represent information in binary code. These circuits can vary in design, although they should normally be able to exist in two discrete states. In computer science, a flip-flop circuit generally represents one with a positive voltage and a zero with no voltage. Early examples of this project involved the use of bulky vacuum tubes and later discoveries that led to things like transistors and microchips. Components like dynamic random access memory (DRAM) can use flip-flop circuits to store binary codes.
Complex forms of data can also be stored in binary code, usually in discrete strings of eight bits each. A binary file can be anything from a plain text document to an executable program, and the data it contains will be represented by the same 0s and 1s as any binary code. Since a binary file can contain images, sounds, or just about any other type of information, they usually include a header that a computer can use for identification purposes.
Binary codes have been around much longer than modern computers, and examples of data represented by two discrete states are found throughout much of human history. The ancient concept of feng shui uses several binary sets in the form of yao symbols, each representing yin or yang. A Nigerian tribe has also used a binary set of a circle or two lines to represent information for thousands of years. Another non-computer related form of binary code is Braille, which uses groups of six dots to represent letters or numbers. Each dot can exist in one of two states, raised or flat, so that the blind can read it.
An example is the binary representations of the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), where each string of eight characters can represent any one of 256 different variations.
