Glossary

Byte

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A byte is a piece of data composed of eight binary digits or bits. A bit is simply a one or a zero, and is used to communicate with computers. To improve human readability, bytes are typically represented in hexadecimal, which is denoted by the prefix ‘0x’, rather than binary, which is denoted by the prefix ‘0b’. Bitcoin transactions, scripts, public keys, and blocks are all series of bytes represented in hexadecimal format.

Related Terms
Bit
A bit is short for “binary digit”, and is either a one or a zero. Bits are the atomic unit of digital data. All computer data is stored as bits, which are grouped into sets of eight, and called bytes.
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Binary
Binary is a number system that only uses two numbers: ones and zeros. Computers operate in binary, meaning they store data and perform calculations using only ones and zeros.
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Encoding
The Bitcoin Protocol uses several different encoding schemes to represent data to users. The encoding schemes are chosen based on the data type, in order to optimise for human readability and conserve disk space.
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