Binary code

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The word 'Wikipedia' represented in ASCII binary, made up of 9 bytes (72
bits).

A binary code represents text or computer processor instructions using the

binary number system's two binary digits, 0 and 1. The binary code assigns a
bit string to each symbol or instruction. For example, a binary string of eight
binary digits (bits) can represent any of 256 possible values and can
therefore correspond to a variety of different symbols, letters or instructions.

In computing and telecommunications, binary codes are used for various

methods of encoding data, such as character strings, into bit strings. Those
methods may use fixed-width or variable-width strings. In a fixed-width binary
code, each letter, digit, or other character is represented by a bit string of the
same length; that bit string, interpreted as a binary number, is usually
displayed in code tables in octal, decimal or hexadecimal notation. There are
many character sets and many character encodings for them.

A bit string, interpreted as a binary number, can be translated into a decimal

number. For example, the lower case a, if represented by the bit string
01100001 (as it is in the standard ASCII code), can also be represented as the
decimal number 97.

Contents

1 History of binary code

2 Other forms of binary code
2.1 Braille
2.2 Bagua
2.3 If divination
3 Coding systems

3.1 ASCII code

3.2 Binary-coded decimal
4 Early uses of binary codes
5 Current uses of binary
6 Weight of binary codes
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

History of binary code

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Further information: Binary number History
Gottfried Leibniz

The modern binary number system, the basis for binary code, was discovered
by Gottfried Leibniz in 1679 and appears in his article Explication de
l'Arithmtique Binaire. The full title is translated into English as the
"Explanation of the binary arithmetic", which uses only the characters 1 and
0, with some remarks on its usefulness, and on the light it throws on the
ancient Chinese figures of Fu Xi."[1] (1703). Leibniz's system uses 0 and 1,
like the modern binary numeral system. Leibniz encountered the I Ching
through French Jesuit Joachim Bouvet and noted with fascination how its
hexagrams correspond to the binary numbers from 0 to 111111, and
concluded that this mapping was evidence of major Chinese
accomplishments in the sort of philosophical mathematics he admired.[2][3]
Leibniz saw the hexagrams as an affirmation of the universality of his own
religious beliefs.[3]

Binary numerals were central to Leibniz's theology. He believed that binary

numbers were symbolic of the Christian idea of creatio ex nihilo or creation
out of nothing.[4] Leibniz was trying to find a system that converts logics
verbal statements into a pure mathematical one. After his ideas were
ignored, he came across a classic Chinese text called I Ching or Book of
Changes, which used a type of binary code. The book had confirmed his
theory that life could be simplified or reduced down to a series of
straightforward propositions. He created a system consisting of rows of zeros
and ones. During this time period, Leibniz had not yet found a use for this
system.[5]

Binary systems predating Leibniz also existed in the ancient world. The
aforementioned I Ching that Leibniz encountered dates from the 9th century
BC in China.[6] The binary system of the I Ching, a text for divination, is
based on the duality of yin and yang.[7] Slit drums with binary tones are used
to encode messages across Africa and Asia.[7] The Indian scholar Pingala
(around 5th2nd centuries BC) developed a binary system for describing
prosody in his Chandashutram.[8][9]
George Boole

The residents of the island of Mangareva in French Polynesia were using a

hybrid binary-decimal system before 1450.[10] In the 11th century, scholar
and philosopher Shao Yong developed a method for arranging the hexagrams
which corresponds, albeit unintentionally, to the sequence 0 to 63, as
represented in binary, with yin as 0, yang as 1 and the least significant bit on
top. The ordering is also the lexicographical order on sextuples of elements
chosen from a two-element set.[11]

In 1605 Francis Bacon discussed a system whereby letters of the alphabet

could be reduced to sequences of binary digits, which could then be encoded
as scarcely visible variations in the font in any random text.[12] Importantly
for the general theory of binary encoding, he added that this method could
be used with any objects at all: "provided those objects be capable of a
twofold difference only; as by Bells, by Trumpets, by Lights and Torches, by
the report of Muskets, and any instruments of like nature".[12]

Another mathematician and philosopher by the name of George Boole

published a paper in 1847 called 'The Mathematical Analysis of Logic' that
describes an algebraic system of logic, now known as Boolean algebra.
Booles system was based on binary, a yes-no, on-off approach that consisted
of the three most basic operations: AND, OR, and NOT.[13] This system was
not put into use until a graduate student from Massachusetts Institute of
Technology by the name of Claude Shannon noticed that the Boolean algebra
he learned was similar to an electric circuit. Shannon wrote his thesis in 1937,
which implemented his findings. Shannon's thesis became a starting point for
the use of the binary code in practical applications such as computers,
electric circuits, and more.[14]
Other forms of binary code
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Daoist Bagua
Main article: List of binary codes

The bit string is not the only type of binary code. A binary system in general
is any system that allows only two choices such as a switch in an electronic
system or a simple true or false test.
Braille

Braille is a type of binary code that is widely used by blind people to read and
write. This system consists of 6-dot positions, three in each column. Each dot
has two states: raised or not raised. This official Braille code was based on
Braille's publication of 1837, in which the six-dot code accounted for all
letters, numbers, and punctuation signs. Braille, however, had almost
perfected his system by 1829 when he published the book, Procedure for
Writing Words, Music, and Plainsong in Dots.
Bagua

The bagua are diagrams used in feng shui, Taoist cosmology and I Ching
studies. The ba gua consists of 8 trigrams; b meaning 8 and gu meaning
divination figure. The same word is used for the 64 gu (hexagrams). Each

figure combines three lines (yo) that are either broken (yin) or unbroken
(yang). The relationships between the trigrams are represented in two
arrangements, the primordial, "Earlier Heaven" or "Fuxi" bagua, and the
manifested, "Later Heaven,"or "King Wen" bagua.[15] (See also, the King Wen
sequence of the 64 hexagrams).
If divination
Sixteen Principal Od
Ogbe

Ogunda

Oyku

II

II

II

II

sa

II

Iwori II

II

Ika

II

II

II

Odi

II

II

Oturupn

II

II

II

II

II

Otura

II

Iwnrin

II

II

Irt I

II

bara

II

II

II

II

II

kanran

II

II

II

Ofun II

II

II

Irosun
I

If is the ancient system of divination and literary corpus of the Yoruba

people of Nigeria. In Yoruba religion, the rite provides a means of
communication with spiritual divinity. The Orisa If or Orunmila ("Grand
Priest") permits access to an initiated priest, a Babalawo ("father of the
secrets") who generates binary values using sacred palm nuts. In wood
powder, these are recorded as single and double lines. There are 16 principal
Od that are said to compose the 256 Od. From memory alone, a Babalawo
must be able to recite four to ten verses for each of the 256 Od If:
generally, orisa lore, traditional medicine, and ritual advice. In 2005, UNESCO
listed If in the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Coding systems
ASCII code

The American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), uses a 7-bit
binary code to represent text and other characters within computers,

communications equipment, and other devices. Each letter or symbol is

assigned a number from 0 to 127. For example, lowercase "a" is represented
by 1100001 as a bit string (which is 97 in decimal).
Binary-coded decimal

Binary-coded decimal, or BCD, is a binary encoded representation of integer

values that uses a 4-bit nibble to encode decimal digits. Four binary bits can
encode up to 16 distinct values; but, in BCD-encoded numbers, only the first
ten values in each nibble are legal, and encode the decimal digits zero,
through nine. The remaining six values are illegal, and may cause either a
machine exception or unspecified behavior, depending on the computer
implementation of BCD arithmetic.

BCD arithmetic is sometimes preferred to floating-point numeric formats in

commercial and financial applications where the complex rounding behaviors
of floating-point numbers is inappropriate.[16]
Early uses of binary codes

1875: mile Baudot "Addition of binary strings in his ciphering system,"

which, eventually, lead to the ASCII of today.
1884: The Linotype machine where the matrices are sorted to their
corresponding channels after use by a binary-coded slide rail.
1932: C. E. Wynn-Williams "Scale of Two" counter[17]
1937: Alan Turing electro-mechanical binary multiplier
1937: George Stibitz "excess three" code in the Complex Computer[17]
1937: Atanasoff-Berry Computer[17]
1938: Konrad Zuse Z1

Current uses of binary

Most modern computers use binary encoding for instructions and data. CDs,

DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs represent sound and video digitally in binary form.
Telephone calls are carried digitally on long-distance and mobile phone
networks using pulse-code modulation, and on voice over IP networks.
Weight of binary codes

The weight of a binary code, as defined in the table of constant-weight codes,

[18] is the Hamming weight of the binary words coding for the represented
words or sequences.
See also

Binary number
List of binary codes
Binary file
Unicode
Gray code

References

Leibniz G., Explication de l'Arithmtique Binaire, Die Mathematische

Schriften, ed. C. Gerhardt, Berlin 1879, vol.7, p.223; Engl. transl.[1]
Aiton, Eric J. (1985). Leibniz: A Biography. Taylor & Francis. pp. 2458. ISBN 085274-470-6.
J.E.H. Smith (2008). Leibniz: What Kind of Rationalist?: What Kind of
Rationalist?. Springer. p. 415. ISBN 978-1-4020-8668-7.
Yuen-Ting Lai (1998). Leibniz, Mysticism and Religion. Springer. pp. 149150.
ISBN 978-0-7923-5223-5.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716)
Edward Hacker; Steve Moore; Lorraine Patsco (2002). I Ching: An Annotated
Bibliography. Routledge. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-415-93969-0.
Jonathan Shectman (2003). Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments,

Inventions, and Discoveries of the 18th Century. Greenwood Publishing. p. 29.

ISBN 978-0-313-32015-6.
Sanchez, Julio; Canton, Maria P. (2007). Microcontroller programming: the
microchip PIC. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. p. 37. ISBN 0-8493-7189-9.
W. S. Anglin and J. Lambek, The Heritage of Thales, Springer, 1995, ISBN 0387-94544-X
Bender, Andrea; Beller, Sieghard (16 December 2013). "Mangarevan
invention of binary steps for easier calculation". Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1309160110.
Ryan, James A. (January 1996). "Leibniz' Binary System and Shao Yong's
"Yijing"". Philosophy East and West (University of Hawaii Press) 46 (1): 5990.
doi:10.2307/1399337. JSTOR 1399337.
Bacon, Francis (1605). "The Advancement of Learning". London. pp. Chapter
1.
What's so logical about boolean algebra?
Claude Shannon(1916-2001)
Wilhelm, Richard (1950). The I Ching or Book of Changes. trans. by Cary F.
Baynes, forward by C. G. Jung, preface to 3rd ed. by Hellmut Wilhelm (1967).
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. 266, 269. ISBN 0-691-09750-X.
Cowlishaw, Mike F. (2015) [1981,2008]. "General Decimal Arithmetic". IBM.
Retrieved 2016-01-02.
Glaser 1971

Table of Constant Weight Binary Codes

External links

Sir Francis Bacon's BiLiteral Cypher system, predates binary number

system.
Weisstein, Eric W., "Error-Correcting Code", MathWorld.
Table of general binary codes. An updated version of the tables of bounds

for small general binary codes given in M.R. Best; A.E. Brouwer; F.J.
MacWilliams; A.M. Odlyzko; N.J.A. Sloane (1978), "Bounds for Binary Codes of
Length Less than 25", IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 24: 8193.
Table of Nonlinear Binary Codes. Maintained by Simon Litsyn, E. M. Rains,
and N. J. A. Sloane. Updated until 1999.
Glaser, Anton (1971). "Chapter VII Applications to Computers". History of
Binary and other Nondecimal Numeration. Tomash. ISBN 0-938228-00-5. cites
some pre-ENIAC milestones.