E.1. Introduction
In this appendix, we introduce the key number systems that Java programmers use, especially when they are working on software projects that require close interaction with machine-level hardware. Projects like this include operating systems, computer networking software, compilers, database systems and applications requiring high performance.
When we write an integer such as 227 or –63 in a Java program, the number is assumed to be in the decimal (base 10) number system. The digits in the decimal number system are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. The lowest digit is 0 and the highest digit is 9— one less than the base of 10. Internally, computers use the binary (base 2) number system. The binary number system has only two digits, ...
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