What is Big-endian?
In a big-endian system, the most significant byte (MSB) is stored at the lowest memory address. This means the “big end” (the most significant part of the data) comes first. For instance, a 32-bit integer 0x12345678
would be stored in memory as follows in a big-endian system:
Address: 00 01 02 03
Data: 12 34 56 78
Here, 0x12 is the most significant byte, placed at the lowest address (00), followed by 0x34, 0x56, and 0x78 at the highest address (03).
What is Endianness? Big-Endian & Little-Endian
Computers operate using binary code, a language made up of 0s and 1s. This binary code forms the foundation of all computer operations, enabling everything from rendering videos to processing complex algorithms. A single bit is a 0 or a 1, and eight bits make up a byte. While some data, such as certain English characters, can be represented by a single byte, other data types require multiple bytes. The concept of endianness is crucial in understanding how these bytes are read and interpreted by computers.