Question

Show how the value 0xabcdef12 would be arranged in memory of a little-endian and a big-endian machine. Assume the data is stored starting at address 0.

Answer 1

Note: You can write data byte as like 0x12, 0xef, 0xcd, and 0xab or you can simply write 12, ef, cd, and ab. Both formats have the same meaning here.

Little-endian:

The little-endian is a way of storing the multiple data types from least(last) significant data bit to most (first) significant data bit is as shown below:

Oxabcdef12 Memory Data Address Data Byte in Binary 0001 0010 ef 1 1100 1101 ab 1010 1011 Little Endian

Big-endian:

The Big-endian is a way of storing the multiple data types from most (first) significant data bit to least(last) significant data bit is as shown below:

Memory Oxabcdef12 Data in Binary Data Address 1010 1011 ab 1100 1101 ef 0001 0010 12 Big-endian