Hexadecimal Numbers

Understanding Hexadecimal

Hexadecimal (base 16) is a number system that uses 16 digits: 0-9 and A-F (or a-f). It's commonly used in computer science for representing memory addresses, colors, and other data.

Representing Hexadecimal Numbers in Python

To represent a hexadecimal number in Python, you prefix it with 0x or 0X:

Python

hex_number = 0xFF  # Equivalent to decimal 255

Converting Between Decimal and Hexadecimal

·         Decimal to Hexadecimal:

o    Use the hex() function:

Python

decimal_number = 255

hex_string = hex(decimal_number)  # Output: '0xff'

·         Hexadecimal to Decimal:

o    Use the int() function with base 16:

Python

hex_string = '0xff'

decimal_number = int(hex_string, 16)  # Output: 255

Bitwise Operations with Hexadecimal

You can perform bitwise operations on hexadecimal numbers just like with decimal or binary numbers.

Python

x = 0xA  # Decimal 10

y = 0x5  # Decimal 5

result_and = x & y  # Output: 0 (Binary: 0000)

result_or = x | y   # Output: 0xF (Binary: 1111)

Key Points

·         Hexadecimal numbers provide a compact way to represent binary data.

·         Python offers built-in functions for converting between decimal and hexadecimal.

·         Bitwise operations can be performed on hexadecimal numbers.