Unit6 The codification of the information

At the end of this unit, the learner should be able to:

 Describe and distinguish between data, information
 Describe and manipulate units of measure of the information
 Describe and manipulate ASCII and EBIDIC code systems

I. Generalities on Data Information

The word "data" is the plural form of the word "datum". Data may be regarded as symbols or
figures that have potential value or to which meaning can be given. information is the basis of all
decision making. To make a decision in the direction of an effective resolution of a problem it is
necessary to have quality information.
Information may be defined as a fact or set of facts that can influence a person's response in a given
situation. Ideally, information reduces or even eliminates a person's sense of uncertainty. We could
also define information as the outcome of data processing. The function of information is to guide a
person on what to do, how and when to do it. The value of information is enhanced by its accuracy,
relevance, timeliness, source, up-to-datedness, as well as the packaging format.
More elaborated, we can define information as any set of facts that can be coded and saved on a
magnetic medium, which allows processing, storage, and transfer of knowledge. Information plays
a central role in IT: it is the basis of all decision-making and constitutes a tool for coordination in all
human activity. The key pieces of information presented in a form that can be processed by the
computer
and stored on a memory medium are called data.
1. The qualities of good information
Good information must include the following qualities:
Reliability: It must come from a reliable source;
Relevance: It must meet the needs of the user;
Verifiability: It must allow traceability of the way in which it was produced
accuracy: It must include maximum of precision
Non-redundancy: It must not include repetitive or superfluous data
up-to-datedness: The more recent information, the more up to date

2. The units of measurement of the quantity of information

Information can be quantified to assess the memory size of a computer, usable space on a hard
drive, file size, directory size; etc. There are therefore units to quantify information with multiples
and submultiples. In IT, in terms of information storage, the basic quantity is the bit (Binary digit).
It can only take 2 values: zero (0) or one (1). The other measurement units correspond to bit
groupings, the basic grouping being a set of 8bits called a byte. Its symbol is (B). 1 BYTE = 8
BITS. You should remember that binary system simply means base two counting system. The
computer machine was designed based on this counting system, hence your computer does not
understand anything else than 0 or 1. Programs written for execution have to be translated into O's
and 1's before they can be executed. The following are memory units of measurement:
1 Kilobyte (KB) = 210 = 1024 bytes
1 Megabyte (MB) = 220 = 1,048,576 bytes

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1 Gigabyte (GB) = 230 = I, 073, 741,824 bytes
1 Terabyte (TB) = 240 bytes
1 Petabyte (PB) = 250 bytes
1 Exabyte (EB) = 260 bytes

II. Coding in ASCII and EBCDIC

To perform its role, the computer is required to manage and represent at least three types of data:
numeric, alphanumeric and special characters (such as !, #, $, &…). There are several codes that
handle these data types, but it is usual to begin with ASCII (American Code for Standard
Information Interchange) developed in the United States in 1963. In order to represent characters
present in French and other romance languages, ANSI (American National Standard Institute) was
developed. From ASCII’s 7 bits we move on to EBCDIC (Extended Binary Code Decimal
Interchange Code) which uses 8 bits followed by the universal 16 bit “Unicode” (Universal Code).
Unicode is capable of representing characters found in all the major languages of the world
(including Pacific, Asian and Middle Eastern). Information coding is a continual process and it is
moving to Extend Unicode, to include every language in the world’s character set.
1. The 7 bit ASCII code
ASCII uses 7 bits to codify data. This allows for the coding of 2 7 = 128 characters. The following
table provides a sample of ASCII:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0 SP 0 © P ‘ p
1 ! 1 A Q a q
2 << 2 B R b r
3 # 3 C S c s
4 $ 4 D T d t
5 % 5 E U e u
6 & 6 F V f v
7 ‘ 7 G W g w
8 ( 8 H X h x
9 ) 9 I Y i y
A * : J Z j z
B ESC + ; K [ k {
C , < L \ l |
D - = M ] m }
E . > N ^ n
F / ? O _ o DEL
SP: space DEL: delete ESC: Escape
Notes:
 Upper and lower-case letters have different values
 ASCII does not contain code for special characters.
 ASCII contains all the characters used in English.

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  The numeric code for any of the above symbols can be found by intersecting the appropriate
column (numbered 0 to 7) with the appropriate row (numbered 0 to F). Notice that both
columns and rows are numbered in hexadecimal. As an example, the letter “R” is
represented by 5216 while “r” is 7216.
Examples: Using ASCII, codify the following words and phrases:
a) Dad
b) Mom
c) Dada is in class
d) The ASCII code
Solutions:
a) 44 61 64
b) 4D 6F 6D
c) 44 61 64 61 20 69 73 20 69 6E 20 63 6C 61 73 73
d) 54 68 65 20 41 53 43 49 49 20 63 6F 64 65
2. The 8-bit EBCDIC
A code mostly used by IBM, EBCDIC uses 8 bits in order to have more room for different
characters. It is not, in terms of language, different from ASCII. The main differences in the table
are that it contains 16 columns and 16 rows (still numbered in hexadecimal) and that we read it by
intersecting rows with columns (the opposite of what we did with the ASCII table).
Examples: Using EBCDIC, codify the following words and phrases
a) Dad
b) Mom
c) Dada is in class
d) The ASCII code

Solutions:
a) C4 81 84
b) D4 96 94
c) C4 81 84 C1 40 89 A2 40 89 95 40 83 93 81 A2 A2
d) E3 88 85 40 C1 E2 C3 C9 C9 83 96 84 85

An extract of the EBCDIC table:

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
0
1
2
3
4 SP . < ( +
5 & ! $ * ) ;
6 - / | ‘ % _ > ?

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7 : # © ‘ = *
8 A b c D E f g H i
9 J k l m N o p Q r
A - s t U V w x Y z
B
C { A B C D E F G H I
D } J K L M N O P Q R
E \ . S T U V W X Y Z
F 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Parity Bit
A parity bit is used for error detection of information, since a bit or bits may be changed during the
transmission of information from source to destination, a parity bit is an extra bit appended to the
information. It represents whether the number of ones or zeroes is either even or odd in the original
transmission and can alert the destination to a loss of information.
Even Parity. The extra bit (0 or 1) is chosen such that the number of ones becomes even.
Example Our message is (00111)2. By appending a one to the left side of the message, we create
(100111)2. Our even parity bit has made the total number of ones even (from 3 to 4 ones).
Our message is (10111)2. By appending a zero to the left side of the message, we create (010111)2.
Our even parity bit has left the total number of ones even (4 ones).
Odd Parity. The extra bit (0 or 1) is chosen such that the number of ones becomes odd. Our
message is (10111)2. By appending a one to the left side of the message, we create (110111)2. Our
odd parity bit has made the total number of ones even (from 4 to 5 ones).
Clock
0 and 1 continuously repeated is called clock as shown in the following Figure, when clock change
from 0 to 1 is called rising edge of clock and when clock change from 1 to 0 is called falling edge of
clock. Each cycle of the clock consists of 1 and 0 or 0 and 1; it is measured by time (second). If one
cycle represented by T and the unit of T is seconds, then F (frequency) = 1/ T where the unit of
frequency is hertz (Hz) and the unit of T is seconds.

Example What is the frequency of a clock if one cycle of the clock is equal to 0.5 ms?
F = 1/T = 1/0.5 x 10-3 = 2000 Hz

Transmission Modes
When data is transferred from one computer to another by digital signals, the receiving computer
has to distinguish the size of each signal to determine when a signal ends and when the next one

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begins. For example, when a computer sends a signal as shown in the Figure below, the receiving
computer has to recognize how many ones and zeros are in the signal. Synchronization methods
between source and destination devices are generally grouped into two categories: asynchronous
and synchronous.

Figure: Digital signals

Asynchronous Transmission
Asynchronous transmission occurs character by character and is used for serial communication,
such as by a modem or serial printer. In asynchronous transmission, each data character has a start
bit which identifies the start of the character and 1 or 2 bits which identifies the end of the character,
as shown in the Figure below. The data character is 7 bits. Following the data bits may be a parity
bit, which is used by the receiver for error detection. After the parity bit is sent, the signal must
return to high for at least 1bit time to identify the end of the character. The new start bit serves as an
indicator to the receiving device that a data character is coming and allows the receiving side to
synchronize its clock. Since the receiver and transmitter clock are not synchronized continuously,
the transmitter uses the start bit to reset the receiver clock so that it matches the transmitter clock.
Also, the receiver is already programmed for the number of bits in each character sent by the
transmitter.

Figure: Asynchronous transmission

Synchronous Transmission
Some applications require transferring large blocks of data, such as a file from disk or transferring
information from a computer to a printer. Synchronous transmission is an efficient method of
transferring large blocks of data by using time intervals for synchronization. One method of
synchronizing transmitter and receiver is through the use of an external connection that carries a
clock pulse. The clock pulse represents the data rate of the signal, as shown in the Figure below, and
is used to determine the speed of data transmission. The receiver of the Figure below reads the data
as 01101, each bit width
represented by one clock. The following Figure shows an extra connection is required to carry the
clock pulse for synchronous transmission. In networking, one medium is used for transmission of
both information and the clock pulse. The two signals are encoded in a way that the synchronization
signal is embedded into the data. This can be done with Manchester encoding or Differential
Manchester encoding.

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Figure Synchronous transmission
Transmission Methods
There are two types of transmission methods used for sending digital signals from one station to
another across a communication channel: serial transmission and parallel transmission.
Serial Transmission
In serial transmission, information is transmitted 1 bit at a time over one wire as shown in the
Figure below.

Figure: Serial transmission

Parallel Transmission
In parallel transmission, multiple bits are sent simultaneously, 1 byte or more at a time, instead of
bit by bit as in serial transmission. The Figure below shows how computer A sends 8 bits of
information to computer B at the same time by using eight different wires. Parallel transmission is
faster than serial transmission, at the same clock speed.

Figure: Parallel transmission

Exercise 1: Use ASCII to codify the following characters
a) A
b) a
c) B
d) e

Exercise 2: Use ASCII to codify the following words

a) Father

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 b) Dada
c) Mine
d) Am

Exercise 3: Use ASCII to codify the following phrases

a) Dad went to the field
b) My dad is a Professor
c) I build a house
d) ASCII is insufficient

Exercise 4: Use EBCDIC to codify the following characters

a) A
b) a
c) B
d) e

Exercise 5: Use EBCDIC to codify the following words

a) Father
b) Dada
c) Mine
d) Am

Exercise 6: Use EBCDIC to codify the following phrases

a) Dad went to the field
b) My dad is a Professor
c) I build a house
d) EBCDIC is insufficient

Exercise 7: The emptying of a folder gives the following message. Convert it using ASCII
a) 54 68 65 20 41 53 43 49 49 20 63 6F 64 65 2E
b) 44 61 64 20 73 69 6E 67 73 2E
c) 44 61 64 61 20 69 73 20 69 6E 20 63 6C 61 73 73 2E
d) 4D 6F 6D 20 69 73 20 69 6E 20 74 68 65 20 66 69 65 6C 64 2E

Exercise 8: The emptying of a folder gives the following message. Convert it using EBCDIC
a) C9 40 81 94 40 88 85 99 85 4B
b) C4 C1 C4
c) C4 81 84
d) D4 96 A3 88 85 99

Exercise 5: USB keys and diskettes are two types of memory storage. Diskettes can contain 1.44
Mb, while USB keys can exceed 8 Gb.
e) How do diskettes and USB keys differ?
f) How many diskettes are needed to store the data on one 8 Gb USB key?

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Exercise 6: The computer’s hard drive’s capacity is 40 Gb. We want to back up the following files
on the hard drive: my courses (3 Gb), my images (16.5 Gb), my documents (7.8 Gb), my music
(22.5 Gb) and my photos (12.5 Gb).
g) Name at least two folders we can save on the hard drive.
h) Name two groups of folders we cannot save on the hard drive at the same time.
i) What group of folders uses the most space on the hard drive?
j) What group of folders uses the least amount of space on the hard drive?