Why base-16 is called "hex"
Though the behaviour is considered "bad practice" when done to excess, programmers sometimes need to embed constants in their programs. These "magic numbers" were historically written in base-16, and the tradition has lasted to this very day. A "hex" is a magical spell, so magic numbers, when written in base-16, are therefore "hex numbers". "Hex" was later combined with the word "decimal" to indicate that it was a numeric base, hence "hexadecimal". Later, the Greeks used the words "heks" and "deka" to mean "six" and "ten" respectively (from hexadecimal and because base-16 = 6 + 10). This led to the common misconception that "heksadecimal" is a combination of "six" (heks) and "decimal" (from decimus, meaning "tenth"), but this cannot be correct because decimus is a Latin (Roman) word, yet the ancient Greeks precede the Romans by several centuries.
The "magical base", hexadecimal, actually predates both Rome and Greece, and comes to us from the ancient programmers of Babylon, including the architects of the Babylonian operating system known as Hammurabi. Evidence of this operating system comes from written references to "the code of Hammurabi". Some archaeologists believe the code may survive on an ancient version control system called "StoneTablet". Recent archaeological digs have therefore focused on finding the hard drive on which the Tablet repository of Hammurabi resides.
The "magical base", hexadecimal, actually predates both Rome and Greece, and comes to us from the ancient programmers of Babylon, including the architects of the Babylonian operating system known as Hammurabi. Evidence of this operating system comes from written references to "the code of Hammurabi". Some archaeologists believe the code may survive on an ancient version control system called "StoneTablet". Recent archaeological digs have therefore focused on finding the hard drive on which the Tablet repository of Hammurabi resides.
Last edited on
I'm sorry Chris, but I just don't see enough evidence to believe hexadecimal exists. Sure, she could be a metaphor for malevolence and chaos, but I mean... At least I believe in Megabyte and our one true savior Bob
Reboot? anyone?
Reboot? anyone?
Last edited on
closed account (z05DSL3A)
| Hexadecimal wrote: |
|---|
| I infect the entire net. I have spread through systems, peoples and cities. From this place: Mainframe. My format: Virus. The Queen of Chaos! Ha-ha-ha Ha-ha-ha-haaaaa! Ha-ha-ha-ha. |
Chrisname should make a combined Comp Sci and History school for all those interested in how programming was done in ancient times.
| At least I believe in Megabyte and our one true savior Bob |
Wait a minute, bob? Wait, he can't possibly mean!?
http://toastytech.com/guis/bobhome1p.png
All hail Microsoft Bob! The worst MS product ever!
The only thing Bob can save us from is receiving an encrypted message from Alice and passing it off to Cindy who re-encrypts it using a different key who then sends it to Dave who tries to use Alice's hey to decrypt it but it doesn't work. Have no fear because Bob is good friends with Dave and just so happens to have Cindy's key! (Bob is secretly a hacker who broke into the companies FTP website (the username was "admin" and there was no password) He works for Dave (Dave blackmailed Cindy to send him all messages she receives from Alice))
...but what if Alice sent the message over entangled particles? How would we know the state of the encryption of the message when Bob and Dave observe it at the same time? Is it now unencrypted and encrypted simultaneously?
No silly, Alice sends the KEY through entangled particles! Alice creates her key, sends it to Bob who copies it and sends it to Dave. Bob and Dave now holds Alice's key. Cindy creates her key but stores it on the companies FTP server. Alice creates a message, encrypts it using Alice's key, sends it to Cindy who encrypts it using Cindy's key, Cindy then sends it to Dave because Dave had been blackmailing Cindy because Alice is Dave's enemy. Cindy is a double agent working for both Dave and Alice except she works for Alice willingly and had been forced to work for Dave (The irony is that the spy is being blackmailed). Dave receives a scrambled message that has been encrypted twice! Dave had thought a few steps ahead and had Alice's key sent to him but the message was still scrambled! He then goes to Bob, the hero (err, the bad guy actually) who hacks Cindy's FTP server. Though Cindy is an agent, she also owns a muffin shop which has the server running for downloading muffin software. Bob hands the key to Dave, who then takes the original copy that Cindy sent, Decrypts it using Cindy's key, Decrypts it again using Alice's key. Dave then hires Bob as a hitman against Cindy because she has failed to prove loyal Dave.
Short version:
Though the key (should work the same with messages but a little backwards) is being sent using entangled particles, the issue is that both the message and the keys are being stored on insecure machines. If Cindy chose a stronger username and password and/or stepped up her security, she wouldn't have been killed. The method that the message/key was sent doesn't matter because Cindy personally gave in to the blackmail.
Sad story, cryptography is becoming overwhelming, it's not good for the ordinary man who is being left in the dark while the NSA is booming in advancement. It's technically making us insecure from the very thing that should be protecting us.
Short version:
Though the key (should work the same with messages but a little backwards) is being sent using entangled particles, the issue is that both the message and the keys are being stored on insecure machines. If Cindy chose a stronger username and password and/or stepped up her security, she wouldn't have been killed. The method that the message/key was sent doesn't matter because Cindy personally gave in to the blackmail.
Sad story, cryptography is becoming overwhelming, it's not good for the ordinary man who is being left in the dark while the NSA is booming in advancement. It's technically making us insecure from the very thing that should be protecting us.
Topic archived. No new replies allowed.