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What is a number system

A base is a rule for writing numbers. Once you understand what each position means, you can read any base.

Positional notation

In base N, each position represents a power of N: from the right, N⁰, N¹, N² and so on.

For example, decimal 255 is 2×10² + 5×10¹ + 5×10⁰.

Why use several bases

Computers use binary (just 0 and 1), people use decimal, and programmers use hex as a compact form of binary.

Digits and bases

Base N uses digits from 0 to N-1, extending beyond 9 with the letters A (10) to Z (35).