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→Binary Representation of Data
** Binary numbers are resistant to errors, especially when compared to other systems such as analog voltages.
*** To represent the numbers 0-5 as an analog electical value, we could use a voltage from 0 - 5 volts. However, if we use a long cable, there will be signal loss and the voltage will drop: we could apply 5 volts on one end of the cable, but only observe (say) 4.1 volts on the other end of the cable. Alternately, electromagnetic interference from nearby devices could slightly increase the signal.
*** If we use instead use the same voltages and cable length to carry a binary signal, where 0 volts == off == "0" and 5 volts == on== "1", a signal that had degraded from 5 volts to 4.1 volts would still be counted as a "1" and a 0 volt signal with some stray electromagnetic interference presenting as (say) 0.4 volts would still be counted as "0". However, we will need to use multiple bits to carry larger numbers -- either in parallel (multiple wires side-by-side), or sequentially (multiple bits presented over the same wire in sequence).
* Integers
** Integers are the basic building block of binary numbering schemes.