octális

Octális refers to the octal numeral system, which is a base-8 numbering system. This means it uses eight distinct symbols to represent numbers, typically the digits 0 through 7. Unlike the more common decimal (base-10) system that uses digits 0-9, or the binary (base-2) system that uses 0 and 1, octal relies solely on these eight digits.

The octal system has historical roots and found practical applications, particularly in early computing. Its convenience stemmed from its relationship with the binary system. Since 8 is 2 raised to the power of 3 (2^3), each octal digit can be directly represented by a group of three binary digits (bits). For example, the octal digit 3 is represented as 011 in binary, and the octal digit 7 is 111 in binary. This made it easier for programmers and engineers to work with binary data by grouping bits into sets of three, which were then represented by a single octal digit.

While less prevalent in modern computing compared to hexadecimal (base-16), which groups bits into sets of four, octal still appears in some contexts. It can be found in certain file permission settings in Unix-like operating systems, where numbers like 755 represent read, write, and execute permissions for different user categories. Understanding octal provides insight into the historical development of computer science and its underlying number systems.