3. Digital Data Formats and Storage Free Online FlashCards

What are a bit and a byte?

A bit is a binary value, usually written as 0 or 1, while a byte is a group of eight bits.

How do kB and KiB differ?

A kilobyte (kB) equals 1,000 bytes, while a kibibyte (KiB) equals 1,024 bytes.

What is a file header?

A header identifies a file format and stores information needed to interpret the file, such as dimensions or encoding details.

How does a container differ from a codec?

A container packages one or more streams and metadata; a codec encodes or decodes particular content. A WAVE file can contain linear PCM audio.

Does changing a file extension convert its data?

Renaming a file extension does not convert the underlying data. Extensions are clues; software should also inspect format signatures and internal headers.

What is distinctive about UTF-8?

UTF-8 uses one to four 8-bit code units per character, and ASCII characters retain their familiar one-byte values.

How is U+0041 encoded in UTF-8?

The Unicode code point U+0041 for A is represented by the single UTF-8 byte 41 in hexadecimal.

Estimate the raw size of a 1,000 × 1,000 RGB image.

An uncompressed 1,000 × 1,000 RGB image at 8 bits per channel requires about 3,000,000 bytes before headers, metadata, and compression.

How many levels does an 8-bit channel provide?

An 8-bit channel represents 2^8 = 256 levels. Three 8-bit RGB channels can represent up to about 16.7 million color combinations.

Why can SVG graphics scale without pixelation?

SVG stores geometric descriptions rather than a fixed pixel grid, so its shapes can scale without becoming pixelated.

What does audio sampling rate measure?

Sampling rate is the number of audio samples recorded per second, measured in hertz. For example, 44.1 kHz means 44,100 samples per second per channel.

What is the PCM audio data-rate formula?

For uncompressed PCM, data rate ≈ sample rate × bit depth × number of channels. Stereo 44,100 Hz at 16 bits requires 1,411,200 bits per second.