2 Value vs. Representation

A value may have an infinite number of representations. Let's use some analogies.

A value is like a person, a representation is like a name. The same person may have different names: formal name, casual name and etc.

A value is like a particular length, a representation is that length expressed in a particular unit. For example, the length of a 1996 Mazda Miata is 155 inches. However, this is also 12 feet and 11 inches. In metric units, this is approximate 3937mm, which is also 3.937 meters.

Let's bring this back to our topic. A numerical value may be represented by different means. In this module, we'll explore how integer values are represented in a computer (there are two ways). We'll also explore how integer values can be expressed manually.