Note: Trackers should feel free to
skip this section. If you've used any tracking software before, then you
most likely understand how a Hex number system works.
Hexidecimal is a numeric system slightly different then what most are
currently used to. The standard system of counting we use today is called the
"Decimal system", also called Base 10.
This means that all numbers are based on the number 10 (more specifically
0...9, 10..90, etc). The Hexidecimal system differs as it is based on the
number 16 and promptly named Base 16 (Thus the
term Hex). Hexadecimal number systems are very common on computers, since
they allow higher numbers to be placed in smaller areas of memory, or in
our case - in a smaller area of the screen.To stay with symbols we are familiar
with; hex uses A-F for all numbers past 9. Thus, a hexidecimal string representing
numbers of 1 through 20, would be 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C,
D, E, F, 10, 11, 12, 13 and so on. This is how many large numbers will be
accessed in Buzz, and have been accessed in every tracker written. To comfirm
the concept, let me illustrate visually. The following chart shows numbers
in both Base 10 (decimal system, right) and their equivalents in Base 16 (hexidecimal
system, left). Please note that the numbers in this chart are very common
to daily Buzz use. While you will not need to memorize anything (decimal
values will always appear in a status bar),
these are good to know and help make editing faster..
00 |
0 |
40 |
64 |
80 |
128 |
FF |
255 |
FFFF |
65335 |
|