The fundamental unit of information in computing is a binary digit. It represents the smallest amount of data a computer can process. A binary digit can have one of two values, typically represented as 0 or 1. For example, the numerical value ‘5’ can be expressed in a computer’s internal representation using a sequence of these binary digits.
The use of binary digits is essential to digital technology because it allows for the representation of all types of data and instructions within a computer system. This encoding enables efficient storage, transmission, and manipulation of information. Historically, the adoption of the binary system significantly improved the reliability and efficiency of computation compared to earlier analog methods.
