A way of coding information using numbers. Binary encoding

In the process of development, mankind has come to realize the need to store and transmit on a distance one or another information. In the latter case, its transformation into signals was required. This process is called data encoding. Text information, as well as graphic images can be converted into numbers. About how this can be done, our article will tell.

Transfer of information over a distance

To transmit a message from the author to the addressee (from the source to the receiver), three types of transmission systems are most often used:

• Courier-postal;
• Acoustic (for example, using a loudspeaker);
• On the basis of this or that method of telecommunication (wire, radio, optical, radio relay, satellite, fiber-optic).

The most common at the moment are the transmission systems of the latter type. However, to use them, you must first apply one or another method of encoding information. With the help of numbers in the usual decimal calculus for modern people, it is extremely difficult to do this.

Encryption

Sometimes the content of the message is required to be hidden from outsiders. In this case, encryption is used. Various ways of coding information using numbers can be used.

Binary notation

At the dawn of the computer era, scientists were concerned about finding a device that would allow the most simple representation of numbers in a computer. The question was resolved when Claude Chenon suggested using a binary number system. It was known since the 17th century, and for its implementation a device with 2 stable states corresponding to logical "1" and logical "0" was required. At that time, they were known for enough - from the core, which could be either magnetized or demagnetized, to a transistor capable of being either in the open or in the closed state.

The advantages of the binary system of calculus include the simplicity of calculations that can be performed on the numbers represented in the binary notation.

How does the transformation of "ordinary" information into a view suitable for processing and storing a computer

A computer binary code is technically implemented by the absence or presence of impulses in microscopic storage elements. These can be:

1. Photoptical impulses. The surface of any optical disc (DVD, CD or BluRay) consists of a spiral formed of small segments. Each of them is either light or dark. When the disk rotates in the drive, the laser focuses on its spiral path. Its reflection falls on the photocell. The latter in this case is the receiver of information. The light sections of the spiral reflect light and transfer it to the photocell, dark, on the contrary, absorb light. As a result, the photocell receives information encrypted in the disc track as dark and light points.

2. Magnetic pulses. With their help, the information on the hard disk is encoded, inside of which there is a fast rotating plate. As in the case of optical disks, its entire surface is a spiral, which consists of a sequence of small areas of several million. Each of them is an element that is capable of taking one of two states: "magnetized" or "unmagnetized". They form the binary code of this or that information. "Clarification", in which state the particular element is located, is realized by means of a special head that moves along the surface of the plate.

3. Electrical impulses. RAM computer is a chip, consisting of millions of small cells, "collected" from microscopic capacitors and transistors. Each of them can contain an electric charge or be uncharged. The combinations of memory cells that are in one of these two possible states form a binary code. In all other devices based on memory chips, for example, on flash drives, SSD-media, etc., the information is stored in exactly the same way.

Coding texts

As already mentioned, one of the types of information conversion for its transmission and storage is encryption. It is used to protect against unauthorized access. Initially, for encryption, along with more primitive, the following methods of encoding information were used:

• By means of the Polybius square, which is a table into which the entire Greek alphabet is inscribed in a certain order. Each letter of the message was replaced with a pair of numbers representing the number of the column and the row.
• Through the disc of Alberti, consisting of two concentric circles. They were marked with letters and numbers. They were aligned with each other by rotating the disks.

The modern way of coding textual information in a computer is based on similar principles. For its implementation, each character of the alphabet corresponds to a certain integer. Then it is translated into binary code. Eight binary digits allow you to encode 256 different characters. They are enough to represent all the letters of English and Russian, including capital letters, signs of arithmetic and punctuation, as well as some common special characters.

At the moment the system ASCII operates. For it, 2 coding tables are fixed. The basic one defines the values from 0 to 127, and the extended one is represented by numbers from 128 to 255.

How to encode a monochrome picture on a computer

Any black and white image, printed on paper, under the magnifying glass looks like a set of dots, which are commonly called raster. The linear coordinates and brightness of each of these can be expressed in terms of integers. This means that you can use a binary code to grow the image. It is generally accepted at the moment to view monochrome illustrations in the form of a combination of a large number of points with 256 gradations of gray. To digitally encode the brightness of any of them, an eight-bit binary number is required.

Representation of color pictures

The way of encoding information with numbers for such images is somewhat more complicated. For this purpose, the decomposition of the picture into three primary colors (green, red and blue) is preliminary required, as a result of their mixing in certain proportions, you can get any shade perceived by the human eye. This way of encoding a picture using numbers using 24 bits is called RGB, or True Color.

If we are talking about printing, then the CMYK system is used. It is based on the idea that each of the main components of RGB can be put in line with the color that complements it to white. They are blue, purple and yellow. Although they are sufficient, in order to reduce printing costs, add a fourth component - black. Thus, to represent graphics in the CMYK system 32 bits are required, and the mode itself is called full-color.

Representation of sounds

When asked whether there is a way to encode information using numbers, the answer must be positive. However, at the moment such methods are not considered perfect. These include:

• Method FM. It is based on the decomposition of any complex sound into a sequence of elementary harmonic signals of different frequencies, which can be described by code.
• Table-wave method. In pre-compiled tables, samples are stored - samples of sounds for various musical instruments. Numeric codes express the type and number of the instrument model, pitch, intensity and duration of the sound,

Now you know that binary coding is one of the most common ways of presenting information, which played a huge role in the development of computer technology.