Exam-style question
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Explain the difference between the character code representation of the digit character '8' and the pure binary representation of the numerical value 8. Use a clear example, but do not assume that the two representations must have the same bit pattern.
Model answer
What a good answer should say
- The character code representation stores the symbol '8' so that it can be treated as a character.
- The pure binary representation stores the numerical value eight for use as a number.
- For example, an encoding might assign the character '8' the code 01011000, while the numerical value 8 could be represented in pure binary as 1000.
- The bit patterns and their meanings are different.
Explanation
Why this works
The key distinction is meaning: one representation identifies a character and the other represents a number. A character code is not interpreted as the digit's numerical value merely because the character looks like a digit.
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