created: 06/25/96; 2nd edition: 05/13/01; little bitty changes: 09/01/01; audio 12/06/03
Computers represent data and instructions with patterns of bits. You must become familiar with bit patterns! This chapter will help you. It discusses the fundamentals of bit patterns.
Chapter Topics:
In most computer documentation, 8 contiguous bits are called a byte. A bit holds a zero or a one, possibly representing the on/off condition of a switch.
How many patterns can be formed with a single bit? (Hint: click on the switch!)