Data Representation

Learn about how computers represent numbers and colors.

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Task 1 Introduction

Are you curious to explore in-depth how computers represent colors and numbers? You are not only interested in seeing a purple color on the screen, but also interested in inspecting how this “purple” is represented in the computer memory. As a bonus, you will also learn how computers manage to do all their calculations when they can read and write only two states and interpret them as 0 and 1.

Human beings find it most convenient to use the decimal system for everyday tasks, such as counting, measuring, weighing, and paying. If you like jogging, you might track your progress by timing yourself; for instance, you might say you jogged for 23 minutes. When you look at prices, you expect something like 17, 99, 239, 3049, and so on. Without giving it much thought, we use the decimal system, where the digits range from 0 to 9. Computers, on the other hand, are limited to two digits: 0 and 1. If you have ever wondered how computers represent the different values using only two digits, this room will help you get some answers.