Bibi-binary: Difference between revisions

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[[Image:Table de correspondance entre le Bibinaire et les autres notations.svg|520px|thumb|right|Each Bibi digit is formed from a square arranging the 1-bits in its binary representation. If only a single bit is 1 a vertical line runs through the centre and ends in that bit's corner; otherwise it relies on the order of the positions of the 1-bits. When there are exactly two 1-bits, the line passes round the centre. The forms are rounded when there are less than three 1-bits, and use sharp corners when three or four of the bits are 1.]]

The '''Bibi-binary''' system for numeric notation ({{lang-langx|fr|système Bibi-binaire}}, or abbreviated "'''{{lang|fr|système Bibi}}'''") is a [[hexadecimal]] numeral system first described in 1968<ref>Brevet d'invention n° 1.569.028, ''Procédé de codification de l'information'', Robert Jean Lapointe, demandé le 28 mars 1968, délivré le 21 avril 1969. [http://bases-brevets.inpi.fr/fr/document/FR1569028/publications.html Downloaded] from [[Institut national de la propriété industrielle|INPI]].</ref> by singer/mathematician [[Boby Lapointe|Robert "Boby" Lapointe]] (1922–1972). At the time, it attracted the attention of [[André Lichnerowicz]], then engaged in studies at the [[University of Lyon]].

The notational system directly and logically encodes the binary representations of the digits in a hexadecimal (base sixteen) numeral. In place of the Arabic numerals 0–9 and letters A–F currently used in writing hexadecimal numerals, it presents sixteen newly devised symbols (thus evading any risk of confusion with the decimal system). The graphical and phonetic conception of these symbols is meant to render the use of the Bibi-binary "language" simple and fast.

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== Name ==

The central observation driving this system is that sixteen can be written as 2 to the power of 2, to the power of 2. As we use the term [[binary number|binary]] for numbers written in base two, Lapointe reasoned that one could also say "bi-binary" for base four, and thus "bibi-binary" for base 16. Its name may also be a pun, as the word ''bibi'' in French is slang for "me" or "myself";<ref>{{citation|url=https://madd-bordeaux.fr/sites/BOR-MADD-DRUPAL/files/2020-12/documents/Livret%20anglais_IMPRESSION.pdf|title=Bibi-binaire code|work=Phenomena: Design lifts the veil on the invisible technologies of everyday life|type=Guide booklet|pages=8–9|publisher=Musée des arts décoratifs et du design, Bordeaux|date=November 2018 – March 2019}}</ref> various forms of word play were at the centre of Lapointe's artistic œuvre.

== Pronunciation ==