We use base 10 (decimal) every day. Decimal numbers are created by selecting digits from the ten digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. Placing these digits in columns of differing value allows you to create every possible integer. The columns are assigned values that correspond to the powers of 10. Below is an illustration of how the base 10 system works for integers.

...	104	103	102	101	100
...	10,000's	1,000's	100's	10's	1's
		4	1	7	5

The digits 4175 are interpreted as 4 thousands, 1 hundred, 7 tens, and 5 ones.

Similar number representations can be created using other base systems as well. For example, base 2 (binary) uses the digits 0 and 1. The column values are generated by calculating powers of 2 as illustrated below.

...	24	23	22	21	20
...	16's	8's	4's	2's	1's
	1	1	0	1	0

The digits 11010 are interpreted as 1 sixteen, 1 eight, 0 fours, 1 two and 0 ones. This base 2 number is equivalent to 26 in base 10. This can be expressed using the notation 11010₂ = 26₁₀.

A similar system is used to create base 16 (hexadecimal) numbers. The hexadecimal digits are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E and F. The column values are illustrated below.

...	164	163	162	161	160
...	65536's	4096's	256's	16's	1's
			A	3	F

The digits A3F are interpreted as 10 two-fifty-sixes's, 3 sixteens, and 15 ones. This base 16 number is equivalent to 2623 in base 10. This can be expressed using the notation A3F₁₆ = 2623₁₀.