ext_158063 ([identity profile] kirbyk.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] lagilman 2012-11-10 01:28 pm (UTC)

Powers of 2, ie, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, etc.

These come up again and again. One instance is a measure of size. You've heard of 8-bit, 16-bit, 64-bit systems. On an 8-bit system, you're working with chunks of 8 binary bits, ie 2^8, which is why in the original Zelda you max out at 255 rupees. To hold more would cost twice as much memory, which is often at a premium.

Numbers start at 0 in programming, so an 8-bit system is 0 to 255. 256 would be a 'weak' number, because it's expensive - and if you want it to work this way, maybe it wraps around to 0 again.

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