kuueteistkümnendsüsteem

Kuueteistkümnendsüsteem, also known as hexadecimal, is a positional numeral system that uses sixteen distinct symbols. These symbols are typically the digits 0 through 9 and the letters A through F. In this system, the digit 0 represents the value zero, 1 represents one, and so on, up to 9 representing nine. The letters A through F represent the decimal values ten through fifteen respectively.

The primary advantage of the hexadecimal system lies in its ability to represent binary-coded values more compactly and readably. Since 16 is a power of 2 (specifically, 2^4), each hexadecimal digit can be directly translated into a group of exactly four binary digits (bits). For example, the hexadecimal digit 7 corresponds to the binary sequence 0111, and the hexadecimal digit A (representing decimal 10) corresponds to 1010. This makes hexadecimal widely used in computer science and digital electronics for representing memory addresses, color codes in web design (e.g., #FF0000 for red), and data.

The positional nature of the system means that the value of each digit depends on its position. Each position represents a power of 16, starting from 16^0 on the rightmost side. For instance, the hexadecimal number 1A3 can be converted to decimal as follows: (1 * 16^2) + (10 * 16^1) + (3 * 16^0) = (1 * 256) + (10 * 16) + (3 * 1) = 256 + 160 + 3 = 419. This direct relationship with binary and its conciseness have made it an indispensable tool in various technical fields.