binary coding?

Question

okay i get the bytes about computers and how it is that they are stored. They each represent certain numbers. i get that but how does the computer decode them. Is it as text that tells it what type of file it is and its components or what.? im very confused about this. and how do they store them onto the hard drive? is it just like they do in cd's? then how do they erase or transfer them from one place to another. like to folders and stuff. how to folders "look" like in a hard drive meaning on the actual drive. i know that on cd's the data is in bumps that the laser picks up and deciphers but i dont really know about this

Answer 1

You certainly won't find the answer this way because it's too complex. Start by looking here:
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/

Answer 2

Den is correct.

ASCII(pronounced as-key) is the standard encoding for letters and symbols that computers use. There are other encoding methods but for compatibility reasons people usually just use the ASCII standard(encoding)


What you ask is really getting into computer science. There is so much to know first before you can really get into this subject. I suggest what the above user did, enroll in a college computer science course.


Data is stored in a binary state(0 or 1). Example the letter "A" in binary is "01000001"

As for the hard drives they store magnetically (north or south).

CD's use bumps to represent the binary 0 and 1. Hard Drives use magnetic particles(north or south) to manipulate binary. This is why they can hold the data once the power is out. Ram uses electricity in it's capacitors(full or not full) to represent binary. See where this is going? It's all about manipulation on either two values, 0 or 1.

Answer 3

Your question is really more like a whole bunch of questions listed under one title.

I used to know how binary was used to represent letters and numbers, etc. when I was learning to program in Basic in high school, but that was a very long time ago. I recall something about the ASCII codes. Hard Drives store information magnetically; the same way floppys do. Hard drives are magnetically shielded by their cases to prevent erasure.

My question is ... why is this so important to you? It certainly isn't necessary to understand the microscopic inner workings of the transistors within a CPU to be able to take advantage of the computer power that is available because of them.

I don't understand exactly how an automatic transmission works, but it never stopped me from driving.

Answer 4

you're right, the way data is stored in CD's are bumps that can be read optically by lasers, that's also the reason why some people also call it as Optical Media storage.

on the other hand, data's in the hard drive are stored my magnetic "bumps" that will represent 1 and 0. Harddrives are also called Magnetic Media storage.

Answer 5

If someone were to answer your question they would be writing a novel or something. Seriously, my honest answer would be for you to register at a community college for a semester and take a basic introduction to computer programming of some sort.