the computer and processor will work just fine without any additional complexity. But,
what if you wish to store names, dates, facts, numbers, and other more complicated data
in the computer? What then?Binary Data
The termbinaryloosely means “two numbers,” and the two numbers associated with
binary are 1 and 0. Simply by assignment, the two voltage levels in the computer can
represent these two binary values, with the lower voltage level equaling 0 and the higher
voltage level equaling 1. Given this, then it shouldn’t be too hard to understand that a
transistorcanstoreeitherthevoltagerepresentinga1ora0.Whenatransistorisassigned
a binary value this way, it becomes abinary digit,orbit, for short. Refer back to Chapter 2
for a review on how binary values are formed.
Now you know that the computer can store numbers, at least two numbers, anyway.
But, once again, how do you store other numbers, words, or formulas in the computer?Bit Groupings
To store data larger than a single bit, groups of bits are combined. These groupings all
have names (some are very odd names), and each is capable of storing a different maximum
binary value. Here are some of the key digital elements involved with the digital logic of
the computer: Abit(binary digit) is a single binary number that can be either 1 or 0.
Abinary wordis one or more bits and usually ranges from 4 to 64 bits.
Abyte(pronounced “bite”; the common 8-bit binary word), depicted in
Figure 3-1, is probably the computer storage unit you hear the most about.
The memory and storage on the computer are normally expressed in bytes.
As you will see later in this chapter (“Storing Data in a Byte”), a single byte
can hold the binary values equal to 0 to 255 in decimal.Chapter 3: Microprocessors^41
Figure 3-1. A byte consists of eight bits