65,536
65,536 is a significant number in computer science, representing 216 (two to the power of sixteen). It holds particular importance in contexts related to 16-bit computing.
Significance:
- Maximum Value in 16-bit Unsigned Integers: In a 16-bit unsigned integer representation, 65,535 (216 - 1) is the maximum value that can be stored. 65,536 represents the first value that exceeds this limit, requiring more than 16 bits to represent.
- Number of Possible Values: A 16-bit value can represent 65,536 distinct values, ranging from 0 to 65,535.
- Memory Addressing: In some older systems or specific memory architectures, 65,536 might represent a boundary related to memory addressing limitations associated with 16-bit pointers or segment sizes. It can represent the total addressable memory space, for example, 64KB (Kilobytes) which is equal to 65,536 bytes.
- Color Representation: In certain color encoding schemes, particularly older ones, 65,536 different colors could be represented, leveraging the available range of 16-bit values. This offered a limited palette compared to modern color depths.
- Ports and Network Protocols: In networking contexts, port numbers range from 0 to 65,535, utilizing the full range representable by a 16-bit unsigned integer. This limits the total number of uniquely identifiable network ports available.
- Character Encoding: Although Unicode has largely superseded earlier systems, some early character encoding schemes might have used 16-bit values, offering the potential to represent up to 65,536 different characters. This pre-dates the need to represent a wider array of international characters and symbols as addressed by larger Unicode character sets.