Binary Data Format
(BDF)
Description
Binary Format Primer
There is a multitude of ways in which data can be represented, processed, and delivered in the electronic environment, and one of the most prevalent formats computers apply for this purpose happens to be a binary one. If you are among those who at some point have raised the question of how computers manage to store and comprehend various kinds of information, be it pictures, video, text, or applications, understanding the binary format should be your first step.
Understanding What Binary Data Format is, Why it Matters, and How it Operates in English
What’s the binary data format?
The easy one–you store data in only 0 and 1. Specifically, these two symbols are known as bits short for binary digits.
0 and 1. It’s the reason for this simply because digital computers are using electrical signals that could be either on or off, or high or low voltage; these two states are great for showing data in binary form.
Thus, combinations of 0s and 1s are used by computers to encode, save, and send data in the binary data format.
What’s binary data all about?
Every piece of data, no matter how complex, translates to a string of bits.
Thus, for example, the letter A is represented by the bit pattern 01000001 in ASCII.
For each pixel in an image 3 bytes can be used (24 bits), with 8 bits for each of the 3 primary colors (red, green, blue).
When 8 bits are used, 5 is written as 00000101.
All kinds of stuff – text, pictures, sound, video, even programs – basically any information that people want to keep in a computer’s memory can be represented by these bits in a computer.
Why should you use binary data format?
Some of the benefits of using a binary data format are:
- Fast and Reliable Processing
Since computers operate with electric signals that are either on or off, it becomes easy and quick for them to process data in Binary. - Convenient for Transmission and Storage
You can save it on hard drives, SSDs, or USB drives and easily transmit it over the Web due to its tiny size. - The Ubiquity of Standards
Binary data format is generally accepted, almost all digital devices apply it as a typical method for communications and data handling.
Types of Binary Data Formats
Of course, there are countless numbers of binary data formats with different purposes in the world. Anyhow, some of the common known types include:
- Audio, like MP3, WAV
- Videos like MP4, AVI
- Documents PDF, DOCX
Pictures and binary files seem so different to the human eye, but still, a computer will read any one of them because they are all basically binary data.
Binary data vs Textual data
You might be familiar with text files versus binary files. The difference is:
- Text files preserve data in human-readable characters, for example, letters and numbers. These are generally encoded in ASCII or Unicode.
- Binary files contain data stored in binary form, and any kind of data be it images, or programs among others. In and of themselves, people cannot usually read them.
How is binary data used by people?
You can find binary data format everywhere:
- At your keyboard. The letters that you type are being turned into binary codes.
- You can stream music or videos on the phone, and then it saves these files in binary formats.
- The CPU of a computer interprets binary instructions, which constitute software programs.
Drawbacks with Binary Data
Though highly effective, the binary data format still has several drawbacks:
- It makes it difficult for people to directly read or alter binary data.
- File corruption: There is a high possibility that binary files might become corrupted and thus useless.
- These binary formats want certain software to interpret and execute them.
In simpler language
Binary data format is a way of storing information that uses only 0s and 1s.
That is why it is accurate and reliable as it imitates how electronic devices like computers process signals in binary form.
They mostly include different content forms made in digital text characters, graphics, sounds, and pictures, among others.
Latest technology all over the world has really adopted use of Binary data formats.
Special software is required to work with binary files.
Final Thoughts
The most basic data and information in the digital world is all in a binary data format. Every single thing that you send or receive, whether it be a simple message in text or an elaborate stream of video, all gets saved and sent out as lines of 0s and 1s.
Binary data operations help us to understand the very functioning of digital devices and computers. That’s your phone or computer, next time you should know it’s not a space-age miracle, that it’s just bits at work, just 0s and 1s all working together.