Bittijärjestykset

Bittijärjestykset, or byte order, refers to the sequence in which bytes are arranged in computer memory when representing multi-byte data, such as integers or floating-point numbers. There are two primary types of byte order: big-endian and little-endian.

In a big-endian system, the most significant byte (the byte representing the largest value) is stored at the lowest memory address. Conversely, in a little-endian system, the least significant byte is stored at the lowest memory address.

For example, consider the hexadecimal number 0x12345678. In a big-endian system, the bytes would be stored in memory as 12, 34, 56, 78, where 12 is at the lowest address. In a little-endian system, the bytes would be stored as 78, 56, 34, 12, with 78 at the lowest address.

The choice of byte order is a hardware design decision and can affect how data is interpreted when it is transferred between systems with different byte orders. Many network protocols, such as TCP/IP, use a network byte order, which is typically big-endian, to ensure consistent interpretation of data across diverse hardware. Programmers must be aware of byte order when dealing with low-level data manipulation, file formats, or network communication to avoid data corruption or misinterpretation.