This is the most direct display of the 32 bit binary number, showing a zero or one to represent each individual bit. Usually, you want to use both positive and negative numbers. The scheme for representing negative numbers is a bit strange. It is explained in Subsection 2.2.3 of The Most Complex Machine . Using 32 bits, the integers from -2147483648 to 2147483647 can be represented.
Hexadecimal numbers are a kind of shorthand for writing such strings.
Each hexadecimal digit stands for four bits. Real Number Real numbers are numbers that can contain decimal points, like 3.14159 or -234.5, or 12.0. The representation used in computers for real numbers is very complicated. And it allows some strange possibilities, such as INF and -INF, which stand for infinity and minus infinity. There are also NAN's.