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Definition of Hexadecimal

By , About.com Guide

Definition: Hexadecimal is base 16 arithmetic where each digit is a value from 0 to 15, rather than the 0-9 of base 10. The decimal numbers after 9 are represented by the letters A to F where
A16= 1010
B16= 1110
C16= 1210
D16= 1310
E16= 1410
F16= 1510

Its a concise way of expressing numbers. 25510 = FF16. FF = 15*16 + 15. Each digit to the left is 16 times the previous one 40016 = 4*256 = 1024.

In C, C++ and C# numbers are represented as hexadecimal by putting 0x in front. E.g. 0x300 is the same as 768.

Hexadecimal is a very convenient way of showing binary numbers as every 4 binary digits can be shown as one hexadecimal digit.

Glossary:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Also Known As: hex,base 16
Examples:
I converted 24710 into hexadecimal. The answer was F716.
10112 = B16
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