binary data
Digital information encoding
Binary data is information stored or transmitted as sequences of ones and zeros—the raw format computers use internally.
Unlike text files, binary data isn't human-readable: The image file is binary data, not plain text.
Binary files include executables, images, audio, video, and compressed archives.
When binary data is sent through text-only channels, it must be encoded first.
- bitsSmall portions or pieces
- bytesUnits of digital storage
- zerosSymbols for nothing
- onesSingle items or dollars
- codeSymbolic communication system
stream · raw · hex · encoded · file · blob · packet · packet loss · digital · machine · machine readable · dump · storage · transfer · serial · encryption · compressed · parsing
human readability
binary dataplain text
Unencoded readable characters
ASCII text · text files · plaintext · clear text · source code