The octal (base 8) number system, which uses
digits 0 to 7, can be employed as a shorthand method of representing
the data contained within one word, or addressable memory location.
In the case of 24 - and 48-bit word size computers, the octal number
system provides a shorthand method of representing what is contained
in memory. This is true because three binary digits, or bits, can be
represented by one octal digit and both 24 and 48 are divisible by
three.
As noted above, three binary digits can be
represented by one octal digit. This is done by considering the first
three binary place values from right to left that sum to seven, the
highest digit value in the octal number system.
If we wanted to represent a binary value that was contained in a 24-bit word as an octal value, it could be converted as follows:
The octal value can be converted to its decimal equivalent. The octal number 1,702 is equivalent to the decimal number 962. Consider the conversion below, keeping in mind that each digit of the octal number represents a power of 8.
For another example, the value represented by the decimal number 10,000 is displayed in octal form below.
