What is Hexadecimal?
Hexadecimal is a base-16 number system that uses sixteen symbols: 0–9 and A–F. Because one hex digit maps neatly to four binary bits, it is a compact way to represent binary data — used for memory addresses, color codes (#FF8800), and byte values.
Two hex digits represent one byte (0–255). Hex is often prefixed with 0x in code, e.g. 0x1F equals 31 in decimal.
Key points
- Base-16, using digits 0–9 and letters A–F.
- One hex digit maps to exactly four binary bits.
- Two hex digits represent one byte (0–255).
- Often prefixed with 0x in code.
Example
0xFF = 255 #FF8800 is an RGB color
Common uses
- CSS and design color codes (#RRGGBB)
- Memory addresses and byte values
- Representing hashes and binary data compactly
- Bitwise and low-level programming
Work with Hexadecimal directly in your browser.
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