Definition:Octal Notation

Definition

Octal is another word for base $8$.

That is, every number $x \in \R$ is expressed in the form:

$\displaystyle x = \sum_{j \mathop \in \Z} r_j 8^j$

where:

$\forall j \in \Z: r_j \in \set {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}$

Also known as

Octal notation is also known as octonary or octenary.

Historical Note

Octal notation was advocated by Emanuel Swedenborg.

Octal notation used to be important in the field of computer science, but is less so nowadays, as hexadecimal has proved itself more convenient in general.

Sources

• 1986: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers ... (previous) ... (next): $8$
• 1997: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): $8$