0b00000010

0b00000010 is a binary literal used in many programming languages to denote the numeric value formed by the bits 00000010. The 0b prefix signals that the following digits are in base 2. The eight-bit sequence 00000010 represents the decimal number 2.

In other common bases, this value is written as decimal 2 or hexadecimal 0x02. In ASCII, the byte 00000010 corresponds to the control character Start of Text (STX).

As a bit mask, 0b00000010 has only the second least-significant bit set (bit 1, if counting from zero). It is frequently used with bitwise operations to test or set a specific flag: for example, value & 0b00000010 checks whether that bit is on, and value | 0b00000010 would enable it.

In an 8-bit unsigned integer, the value is 2. In an 8-bit signed two's-complement representation, the value is also 2. If stored in a wider type, the pattern is typically extended with leading zeros: 16-bit form is 00000000 00000010.

Support for binary literals such as 0b00000010 appears in several programming languages, including Python, C++14 and later, and JavaScript (ES6).

See also: binary literals, bitwise operations, bit mask.