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Lesson 2: Binary Number System
From the original article in Radio-Electronics
by Jonathan A. Titus
Before you attempt to understand the octal number system, you
should understand the binary number system used extensively in
computers. If you need to review the binary system, see Computer
Architecture, by Caxton Foster, mentioned previously.
The Mark-8 is an 8-bit mini computer, and each of its eight bits can
exist in only one of two possible states , 1 or 0. You have probably
noticed in the Intel User's Manual that the instructions are extensively
noted in straight binary format, such as 01 0 11 110 . This is an excellent
way to become familiar with the instructions, but it leaves a
great deal to be desired when communicating between programmers
and computers. We have, therefore, decided to use the OCTAL numbering
system to represent the program instructions and data as presented
in this article.
Read More:  Mark-8 Construction.pdf, p.10 [2.54 MB]
To show a sample how binary notation may work, we developed a COMM BOARD for the ASCII code, which you can see on the left side of the home page.
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