If bits are just a signal that switches from being on to being off, how does a computer know to interpret how many bits are being represented by each switch? Like, for example, how does a computer know a message is 0100011001 instead of just 010101. Also, if a message starts with a 0, how does a computer know to include in the message? Also, how does a computer know when one message ends and another begins?
In: Technology
Communication of bits is done in specific sizes. A byte is 8 bits, so a computer always knows to count in 8’s, basically.
Anytime computers communicate they know how many bits to send or to expect to receive. Often the first bits/bytes are used to describe the entire packet of data.
I might program communication to use the first 32 bits to communicate how many more bits are in this particular message. Then the receiving computer knows how many bits to expect from that point on.
These are some basic concepts. It gets wildly more complex.
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