ABSTRACT
A program's work consists mostly of storing, manipulating, and processing computer data. In this chapter we look at how this data is stored in a computer system. To a beginner, some of the topics could be intimidating. Binary and hexadecimal numbers sometimes appear to be a profound and arcane mystery that can only be understood by the gurus of computing. Nothing could be further from the truth. As you will see, binary and hex numbers are used in computers because they are more reasonable and easier to apply than conventional decimal numbers. Furthermore, you cannot be a programmer without a working knowledge of the number systems used by computers. A related topic is how text and numbers are encoded so that they can be stored in a computer, and how these data storage codes are used in Java programming.
