While the decimal numbering system allows any digit in a number to have any of ten values (0-9), digits in hexadecimal numbers can have 16 (0-F), digits in octal numbers only eight (0-7) and ...

Binary vs. base 10 Base 10 is great for humans, but -- for reasons dealing with the on and off energy states -- computers use a base 2 number system. With base 2, or binary, every digit represents a ...

Additionally, hex is easier to understand than binary. Programmers often use hex to represent binary values as they are simpler to write and check than when using binary.