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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en" class="RFC">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta content="Common,Latin" name="scripts">
<meta content="initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport">
<title>RFC 9226: Bioctal: Hexadecimal 2.0</title>
<meta content="Michael Breen" name="author">
<meta content="
       The prevailing hexadecimal system was chosen for
congruence with groups of four binary digits, but its design
exhibits an indifference to cognitive factors.
An alternative is introduced that is designed to reduce
brain cycles in cases where a hexadecimal number should be
readily convertible to binary by a human being. 
    " name="description">
<meta content="xml2rfc 3.12.2" name="generator">
<meta content="alphabet" name="keyword">
<meta content="binary" name="keyword">
<meta content="encoding" name="keyword">
<meta content="octal" name="keyword">
<meta content="representation" name="keyword">
<meta content="9226" name="rfc.number">
<!-- Generator version information:
  xml2rfc 3.12.2
    Python 3.6.15
    appdirs 1.4.4
    ConfigArgParse 1.4.1
    google-i18n-address 2.4.0
    html5lib 1.0.1
    intervaltree 3.0.2
    Jinja2 2.11.3
    kitchen 1.2.6
    lxml 4.4.2
    pycairo 1.15.1
    pycountry 19.8.18
    pyflakes 2.1.1
    PyYAML 5.4.1
    requests 2.24.0
    setuptools 40.5.0
    six 1.14.0
    WeasyPrint 52.5
-->
<link href="rfc9226.xml" rel="alternate" type="application/rfc+xml">
<link href="#copyright" rel="license">
<style type="text/css">/*

  NOTE: Changes at the bottom of this file overrides some earlier settings.

  Once the style has stabilized and has been adopted as an official RFC style,
  this can be consolidated so that style settings occur only in one place, but
  for now the contents of this file consists first of the initial CSS work as
  provided to the RFC Formatter (xml2rfc) work, followed by itemized and
  commented changes found necssary during the development of the v3
  formatters.

*/

/* fonts */
@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Noto+Sans'); /* Sans-serif */
@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Noto+Serif'); /* Serif (print) */
@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto+Mono'); /* Monospace */

@viewport {
  zoom: 1.0;
  width: extend-to-zoom;
}
@-ms-viewport {
  width: extend-to-zoom;
  zoom: 1.0;
}
/* general and mobile first */
html {
}
body {
  max-width: 90%;
  margin: 1.5em auto;
  color: #222;
  background-color: #fff;
  font-size: 14px;
  font-family: 'Noto Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
  line-height: 1.6;
  scroll-behavior: smooth;
}
.ears {
  display: none;
}

/* headings */
#title, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 {
  margin: 1em 0 0.5em;
  font-weight: bold;
  line-height: 1.3;
}
#title {
  clear: both;
  border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd;
  margin: 0 0 0.5em 0;
  padding: 1em 0 0.5em;
}
.author {
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}
h1 {
  font-size: 26px;
  margin: 1em 0;
}
h2 {
  font-size: 22px;
  margin-top: -20px;  /* provide offset for in-page anchors */
  padding-top: 33px;
}
h3 {
  font-size: 18px;
  margin-top: -36px;  /* provide offset for in-page anchors */
  padding-top: 42px;
}
h4 {
  font-size: 16px;
  margin-top: -36px;  /* provide offset for in-page anchors */
  padding-top: 42px;
}
h5, h6 {
  font-size: 14px;
}
#n-copyright-notice {
  border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd;
  padding-bottom: 1em;
  margin-bottom: 1em;
}
/* general structure */
p {
  padding: 0;
  margin: 0 0 1em 0;
  text-align: left;
}
div, span {
  position: relative;
}
div {
  margin: 0;
}
.alignRight.art-text {
  background-color: #f9f9f9;
  border: 1px solid #eee;
  border-radius: 3px;
  padding: 1em 1em 0;
  margin-bottom: 1.5em;
}
.alignRight.art-text pre {
  padding: 0;
}
.alignRight {
  margin: 1em 0;
}
.alignRight > *:first-child {
  border: none;
  margin: 0;
  float: right;
  clear: both;
}
.alignRight > *:nth-child(2) {
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}
svg {
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}
.alignCenter.art-text {
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  border-radius: 3px;
  padding: 1em 1em 0;
  margin-bottom: 1.5em;
}
.alignCenter.art-text pre {
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}
.alignCenter {
  margin: 1em 0;
}
.alignCenter > *:first-child {
  border: none;
  /* this isn't optimal, but it's an existence proof.  PrinceXML doesn't
     support flexbox yet.
  */
  display: table;
  margin: 0 auto;
}

/* lists */
ol, ul {
  padding: 0;
  margin: 0 0 1em 2em;
}
ol ol, ul ul, ol ul, ul ol {
  margin-left: 1em;
}
li {
  margin: 0 0 0.25em 0;
}
.ulCompact li {
  margin: 0;
}
ul.empty, .ulEmpty {
  list-style-type: none;
}
ul.empty li, .ulEmpty li {
  margin-top: 0.5em;
}
ul.ulBare, li.ulBare {
  margin-left: 0em !important;
}
ul.compact, .ulCompact,
ol.compact, .olCompact {
  line-height: 100%;
  margin: 0 0 0 2em;
}

/* definition lists */
dl {
}
dl > dt {
  float: left;
  margin-right: 1em;
}
/* 
dl.nohang > dt {
  float: none;
}
*/
dl > dd {
  margin-bottom: .8em;
  min-height: 1.3em;
}
dl.compact > dd, .dlCompact > dd {
  margin-bottom: 0em;
}
dl > dd > dl {
  margin-top: 0.5em;
  margin-bottom: 0em;
}

/* links */
a {
  text-decoration: none;
}
a[href] {
  color: #22e; /* Arlen: WCAG 2019 */
}
a[href]:hover {
  background-color: #f2f2f2;
}
figcaption a[href],
a[href].selfRef {
  color: #222;
}
/* XXX probably not this:
a.selfRef:hover {
  background-color: transparent;
  cursor: default;
} */

/* Figures */
tt, code, pre, code {
  background-color: #f9f9f9;
  font-family: 'Roboto Mono', monospace;
}
pre {
  border: 1px solid #eee;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 1em;
}
img {
  max-width: 100%;
}
figure {
  margin: 0;
}
figure blockquote {
  margin: 0.8em 0.4em 0.4em;
}
figcaption {
  font-style: italic;
  margin: 0 0 1em 0;
}
@media screen {
  pre {
    overflow-x: auto;
    max-width: 100%;
    max-width: calc(100% - 22px);
  }
}

/* aside, blockquote */
aside, blockquote {
  margin-left: 0;
  padding: 1.2em 2em;
}
blockquote {
  background-color: #f9f9f9;
  color: #111; /* Arlen: WCAG 2019 */
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
  border-radius: 3px;
  margin: 1em 0;
}
cite {
  display: block;
  text-align: right;
  font-style: italic;
}

/* tables */
table {
  width: 100%;
  margin: 0 0 1em;
  border-collapse: collapse;
  border: 1px solid #eee;
}
th, td {
  text-align: left;
  vertical-align: top;
  padding: 0.5em 0.75em;
}
th {
  text-align: left;
  background-color: #e9e9e9;
}
tr:nth-child(2n+1) > td {
  background-color: #f5f5f5;
}
table caption {
  font-style: italic;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
  text-align: left;
}
table p {
  /* XXX to avoid bottom margin on table row signifiers. If paragraphs should
     be allowed within tables more generally, it would be far better to select on a class. */
  margin: 0;
}

/* pilcrow */
a.pilcrow {
  color: #666; /* Arlen: AHDJ 2019 */
  text-decoration: none;
  visibility: hidden;
  user-select: none;
  -ms-user-select: none;
  -o-user-select:none;
  -moz-user-select: none;
  -khtml-user-select: none;
  -webkit-user-select: none;
  -webkit-touch-callout: none;
}
@media screen {
  aside:hover > a.pilcrow,
  p:hover > a.pilcrow,
  blockquote:hover > a.pilcrow,
  div:hover > a.pilcrow,
  li:hover > a.pilcrow,
  pre:hover > a.pilcrow {
    visibility: visible;
  }
  a.pilcrow:hover {
    background-color: transparent;
  }
}

/* misc */
hr {
  border: 0;
  border-top: 1px solid #eee;
}
.bcp14 {
  font-variant: small-caps;
}

.role {
  font-variant: all-small-caps;
}

/* info block */
#identifiers {
  margin: 0;
  font-size: 0.9em;
}
#identifiers dt {
  width: 3em;
  clear: left;
}
#identifiers dd {
  float: left;
  margin-bottom: 0;
}
/* Fix PDF info block run off issue */
@media print {
  #identifiers dd {
    float: none;
  }
}
#identifiers .authors .author {
  display: inline-block;
  margin-right: 1.5em;
}
#identifiers .authors .org {
  font-style: italic;
}

/* The prepared/rendered info at the very bottom of the page */
.docInfo {
  color: #666; /* Arlen: WCAG 2019 */
  font-size: 0.9em;
  font-style: italic;
  margin-top: 2em;
}
.docInfo .prepared {
  float: left;
}
.docInfo .prepared {
  float: right;
}

/* table of contents */
#toc  {
  padding: 0.75em 0 2em 0;
  margin-bottom: 1em;
}
nav.toc ul {
  margin: 0 0.5em 0 0;
  padding: 0;
  list-style: none;
}
nav.toc li {
  line-height: 1.3em;
  margin: 0.75em 0;
  padding-left: 1.2em;
  text-indent: -1.2em;
}
/* references */
.references dt {
  text-align: right;
  font-weight: bold;
  min-width: 7em;
}
.references dd {
  margin-left: 8em;
  overflow: auto;
}

.refInstance {
  margin-bottom: 1.25em;
}

.references .ascii {
  margin-bottom: 0.25em;
}

/* index */
.index ul {
  margin: 0 0 0 1em;
  padding: 0;
  list-style: none;
}
.index ul ul {
  margin: 0;
}
.index li {
  margin: 0;
  text-indent: -2em;
  padding-left: 2em;
  padding-bottom: 5px;
}
.indexIndex {
  margin: 0.5em 0 1em;
}
.index a {
  font-weight: 700;
}
/* make the index two-column on all but the smallest screens */
@media (min-width: 600px) {
  .index ul {
    -moz-column-count: 2;
    -moz-column-gap: 20px;
  }
  .index ul ul {
    -moz-column-count: 1;
    -moz-column-gap: 0;
  }
}

/* authors */
address.vcard {
  font-style: normal;
  margin: 1em 0;
}

address.vcard .nameRole {
  font-weight: 700;
  margin-left: 0;
}
address.vcard .label {
  font-family: "Noto Sans",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;
  margin: 0.5em 0;
}
address.vcard .type {
  display: none;
}
.alternative-contact {
  margin: 1.5em 0 1em;
}
hr.addr {
  border-top: 1px dashed;
  margin: 0;
  color: #ddd;
  max-width: calc(100% - 16px);
}

/* temporary notes */
.rfcEditorRemove::before {
  position: absolute;
  top: 0.2em;
  right: 0.2em;
  padding: 0.2em;
  content: "The RFC Editor will remove this note";
  color: #9e2a00; /* Arlen: WCAG 2019 */
  background-color: #ffd; /* Arlen: WCAG 2019 */
}
.rfcEditorRemove {
  position: relative;
  padding-top: 1.8em;
  background-color: #ffd; /* Arlen: WCAG 2019 */
  border-radius: 3px;
}
.cref {
  background-color: #ffd; /* Arlen: WCAG 2019 */
  padding: 2px 4px;
}
.crefSource {
  font-style: italic;
}
/* alternative layout for smaller screens */
@media screen and (max-width: 1023px) {
  body {
    padding-top: 2em;
  }
  #title {
    padding: 1em 0;
  }
  h1 {
    font-size: 24px;
  }
  h2 {
    font-size: 20px;
    margin-top: -18px;  /* provide offset for in-page anchors */
    padding-top: 38px;
  }
  #identifiers dd {
    max-width: 60%;
  }
  #toc {
    position: fixed;
    z-index: 2;
    top: 0;
    right: 0;
    padding: 0;
    margin: 0;
    background-color: inherit;
    border-bottom: 1px solid #ccc;
  }
  #toc h2 {
    margin: -1px 0 0 0;
    padding: 4px 0 4px 6px;
    padding-right: 1em;
    min-width: 190px;
    font-size: 1.1em;
    text-align: right;
    background-color: #444;
    color: white;
    cursor: pointer;
  }
  #toc h2::before { /* css hamburger */
    float: right;
    position: relative;
    width: 1em;
    height: 1px;
    left: -164px;
    margin: 6px 0 0 0;
    background: white none repeat scroll 0 0;
    box-shadow: 0 4px 0 0 white, 0 8px 0 0 white;
    content: "";
  }
  #toc nav {
    display: none;
    padding: 0.5em 1em 1em;
    overflow: auto;
    height: calc(100vh - 48px);
    border-left: 1px solid #ddd;
  }
}

/* alternative layout for wide screens */
@media screen and (min-width: 1024px) {
  body {
    max-width: 724px;
    margin: 42px auto;
    padding-left: 1.5em;
    padding-right: 29em;
  }
  #toc {
    position: fixed;
    top: 42px;
    right: 42px;
    width: 25%;
    margin: 0;
    padding: 0 1em;
    z-index: 1;
  }
  #toc h2 {
    border-top: none;
    border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd;
    font-size: 1em;
    font-weight: normal;
    margin: 0;
    padding: 0.25em 1em 1em 0;
  }
  #toc nav {
    display: block;
    height: calc(90vh - 84px);
    bottom: 0;
    padding: 0.5em 0 0;
    overflow: auto;
  }
  img { /* future proofing */
    max-width: 100%;
    height: auto;
  }
}

/* pagination */
@media print {
  body {

    width: 100%;
  }
  p {
    orphans: 3;
    widows: 3;
  }
  #n-copyright-notice {
    border-bottom: none;
  }
  #toc, #n-introduction {
    page-break-before: always;
  }
  #toc {
    border-top: none;
    padding-top: 0;
  }
  figure, pre {
    page-break-inside: avoid;
  }
  figure {
    overflow: scroll;
  }
  h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 {
    page-break-after: avoid;
  }
  h2+*, h3+*, h4+*, h5+*, h6+* {
    page-break-before: avoid;
  }
  pre {
    white-space: pre-wrap;
    word-wrap: break-word;
    font-size: 10pt;
  }
  table {
    border: 1px solid #ddd;
  }
  td {
    border-top: 1px solid #ddd;
  }
}

/* This is commented out here, as the string-set: doesn't
   pass W3C validation currently */
/*
.ears thead .left {
  string-set: ears-top-left content();
}

.ears thead .center {
  string-set: ears-top-center content();
}

.ears thead .right {
  string-set: ears-top-right content();
}

.ears tfoot .left {
  string-set: ears-bottom-left content();
}

.ears tfoot .center {
  string-set: ears-bottom-center content();
}

.ears tfoot .right {
  string-set: ears-bottom-right content();
}
*/

@page :first {
  padding-top: 0;
  @top-left {
    content: normal;
    border: none;
  }
  @top-center {
    content: normal;
    border: none;
  }
  @top-right {
    content: normal;
    border: none;
  }
}

@page {
  size: A4;
  margin-bottom: 45mm;
  padding-top: 20px;
  /* The follwing is commented out here, but set appropriately by in code, as
     the content depends on the document */
  /*
  @top-left {
    content: 'Internet-Draft';
    vertical-align: bottom;
    border-bottom: solid 1px #ccc;
  }
  @top-left {
    content: string(ears-top-left);
    vertical-align: bottom;
    border-bottom: solid 1px #ccc;
  }
  @top-center {
    content: string(ears-top-center);
    vertical-align: bottom;
    border-bottom: solid 1px #ccc;
  }
  @top-right {
    content: string(ears-top-right);
    vertical-align: bottom;
    border-bottom: solid 1px #ccc;
  }
  @bottom-left {
    content: string(ears-bottom-left);
    vertical-align: top;
    border-top: solid 1px #ccc;
  }
  @bottom-center {
    content: string(ears-bottom-center);
    vertical-align: top;
    border-top: solid 1px #ccc;
  }
  @bottom-right {
      content: '[Page ' counter(page) ']';
      vertical-align: top;
      border-top: solid 1px #ccc;
  }
  */

}

/* Changes introduced to fix issues found during implementation */
/* Make sure links are clickable even if overlapped by following H* */
a {
  z-index: 2;
}
/* Separate body from document info even without intervening H1 */
section {
  clear: both;
}


/* Top align author divs, to avoid names without organization dropping level with org names */
.author {
  vertical-align: top;
}

/* Leave room in document info to show Internet-Draft on one line */
#identifiers dt {
  width: 8em;
}

/* Don't waste quite as much whitespace between label and value in doc info */
#identifiers dd {
  margin-left: 1em;
}

/* Give floating toc a background color (needed when it's a div inside section */
#toc {
  background-color: white;
}

/* Make the collapsed ToC header render white on gray also when it's a link */
@media screen and (max-width: 1023px) {
  #toc h2 a,
  #toc h2 a:link,
  #toc h2 a:focus,
  #toc h2 a:hover,
  #toc a.toplink,
  #toc a.toplink:hover {
    color: white;
    background-color: #444;
    text-decoration: none;
  }
}

/* Give the bottom of the ToC some whitespace */
@media screen and (min-width: 1024px) {
  #toc {
    padding: 0 0 1em 1em;
  }
}

/* Style section numbers with more space between number and title */
.section-number {
  padding-right: 0.5em;
}

/* prevent monospace from becoming overly large */
tt, code, pre, code {
  font-size: 95%;
}

/* Fix the height/width aspect for ascii art*/
pre.sourcecode,
.art-text pre {
  line-height: 1.12;
}


/* Add styling for a link in the ToC that points to the top of the document */
a.toplink {
  float: right;
  margin-right: 0.5em;
}

/* Fix the dl styling to match the RFC 7992 attributes */
dl > dt,
dl.dlParallel > dt {
  float: left;
  margin-right: 1em;
}
dl.dlNewline > dt {
  float: none;
}

/* Provide styling for table cell text alignment */
table td.text-left,
table th.text-left {
  text-align: left;
}
table td.text-center,
table th.text-center {
  text-align: center;
}
table td.text-right,
table th.text-right {
  text-align: right;
}

/* Make the alternative author contact informatio look less like just another
   author, and group it closer with the primary author contact information */
.alternative-contact {
  margin: 0.5em 0 0.25em 0;
}
address .non-ascii {
  margin: 0 0 0 2em;
}

/* With it being possible to set tables with alignment
  left, center, and right, { width: 100%; } does not make sense */
table {
  width: auto;
}

/* Avoid reference text that sits in a block with very wide left margin,
   because of a long floating dt label.*/
.references dd {
  overflow: visible;
}

/* Control caption placement */
caption {
  caption-side: bottom;
}

/* Limit the width of the author address vcard, so names in right-to-left
   script don't end up on the other side of the page. */

address.vcard {
  max-width: 30em;
  margin-right: auto;
}

/* For address alignment dependent on LTR or RTL scripts */
address div.left {
  text-align: left;
}
address div.right {
  text-align: right;
}

/* Provide table alignment support.  We can't use the alignX classes above
   since they do unwanted things with caption and other styling. */
table.right {
 margin-left: auto;
 margin-right: 0;
}
table.center {
 margin-left: auto;
 margin-right: auto;
}
table.left {
 margin-left: 0;
 margin-right: auto;
}

/* Give the table caption label the same styling as the figcaption */
caption a[href] {
  color: #222;
}

@media print {
  .toplink {
    display: none;
  }

  /* avoid overwriting the top border line with the ToC header */
  #toc {
    padding-top: 1px;
  }

  /* Avoid page breaks inside dl and author address entries */
  .vcard {
    page-break-inside: avoid;
  }

}
/* Tweak the bcp14 keyword presentation */
.bcp14 {
  font-variant: small-caps;
  font-weight: bold;
  font-size: 0.9em;
}
/* Tweak the invisible space above H* in order not to overlay links in text above */
 h2 {
  margin-top: -18px;  /* provide offset for in-page anchors */
  padding-top: 31px;
 }
 h3 {
  margin-top: -18px;  /* provide offset for in-page anchors */
  padding-top: 24px;
 }
 h4 {
  margin-top: -18px;  /* provide offset for in-page anchors */
  padding-top: 24px;
 }
/* Float artwork pilcrow to the right */
@media screen {
  .artwork a.pilcrow {
    display: block;
    line-height: 0.7;
    margin-top: 0.15em;
  }
}
/* Make pilcrows on dd visible */
@media screen {
  dd:hover > a.pilcrow {
    visibility: visible;
  }
}
/* Make the placement of figcaption match that of a table's caption
   by removing the figure's added bottom margin */
.alignLeft.art-text,
.alignCenter.art-text,
.alignRight.art-text {
   margin-bottom: 0;
}
.alignLeft,
.alignCenter,
.alignRight {
  margin: 1em 0 0 0;
}
/* In print, the pilcrow won't show on hover, so prevent it from taking up space,
   possibly even requiring a new line */
@media print {
  a.pilcrow {
    display: none;
  }
}
/* Styling for the external metadata */
div#external-metadata {
  background-color: #eee;
  padding: 0.5em;
  margin-bottom: 0.5em;
  display: none;
}
div#internal-metadata {
  padding: 0.5em;                       /* to match the external-metadata padding */
}
/* Styling for title RFC Number */
h1#rfcnum {
  clear: both;
  margin: 0 0 -1em;
  padding: 1em 0 0 0;
}
/* Make .olPercent look the same as <ol><li> */
dl.olPercent > dd {
  margin-bottom: 0.25em;
  min-height: initial;
}
/* Give aside some styling to set it apart */
aside {
  border-left: 1px solid #ddd;
  margin: 1em 0 1em 2em;
  padding: 0.2em 2em;
}
aside > dl,
aside > ol,
aside > ul,
aside > table,
aside > p {
  margin-bottom: 0.5em;
}
/* Additional page break settings */
@media print {
  figcaption, table caption {
    page-break-before: avoid;
  }
}
/* Font size adjustments for print */
@media print {
  body  { font-size: 10pt;      line-height: normal; max-width: 96%; }
  h1    { font-size: 1.72em;    padding-top: 1.5em; } /* 1*1.2*1.2*1.2 */
  h2    { font-size: 1.44em;    padding-top: 1.5em; } /* 1*1.2*1.2 */
  h3    { font-size: 1.2em;     padding-top: 1.5em; } /* 1*1.2 */
  h4    { font-size: 1em;       padding-top: 1.5em; }
  h5, h6 { font-size: 1em;      margin: initial; padding: 0.5em 0 0.3em; }
}
/* Sourcecode margin in print, when there's no pilcrow */
@media print {
  .artwork,
  .sourcecode {
    margin-bottom: 1em;
  }
}
/* Avoid narrow tables forcing too narrow table captions, which may render badly */
table {
  min-width: 20em;
}
/* ol type a */
ol.type-a { list-style-type: lower-alpha; }
ol.type-A { list-style-type: upper-alpha; }
ol.type-i { list-style-type: lower-roman; }
ol.type-I { list-style-type: lower-roman; }
/* Apply the print table and row borders in general, on request from the RPC,
and increase the contrast between border and odd row background sligthtly */
table {
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
}
td {
  border-top: 1px solid #ddd;
}
tr:nth-child(2n+1) > td {
  background-color: #f8f8f8;
}
/* Use style rules to govern display of the TOC. */
@media screen and (max-width: 1023px) {
  #toc nav { display: none; }
  #toc.active nav { display: block; }
}
/* Add support for keepWithNext */
.keepWithNext {
  break-after: avoid-page;
  break-after: avoid-page;
}
/* Add support for keepWithPrevious */
.keepWithPrevious {
  break-before: avoid-page;
}
/* Change the approach to avoiding breaks inside artwork etc. */
figure, pre, table, .artwork, .sourcecode  {
  break-before: auto;
  break-after: auto;
}
/* Avoid breaks between <dt> and <dd> */
dl {
  break-before: auto;
  break-inside: auto;
}
dt {
  break-before: auto;
  break-after: avoid-page;
}
dd {
  break-before: avoid-page;
  break-after: auto;
  orphans: 3;
  widows: 3
}
span.break, dd.break {
  margin-bottom: 0;
  min-height: 0;
  break-before: auto;
  break-inside: auto;
  break-after: auto;
}
/* Undo break-before ToC */
@media print {
  #toc {
    break-before: auto;
  }
}
/* Text in compact lists should not get extra bottim margin space,
   since that would makes the list not compact */
ul.compact p, .ulCompact p,
ol.compact p, .olCompact p {
 margin: 0;
}
/* But the list as a whole needs the extra space at the end */
section ul.compact,
section .ulCompact,
section ol.compact,
section .olCompact {
  margin-bottom: 1em;                    /* same as p not within ul.compact etc. */
}
/* The tt and code background above interferes with for instance table cell
   backgrounds.  Changed to something a bit more selective. */
tt, code {
  background-color: transparent;
}
p tt, p code, li tt, li code {
  background-color: #f8f8f8;
}
/* Tweak the pre margin -- 0px doesn't come out well */
pre {
   margin-top: 0.5px;
}
/* Tweak the comact list text */
ul.compact, .ulCompact,
ol.compact, .olCompact,
dl.compact, .dlCompact {
  line-height: normal;
}
/* Don't add top margin for nested lists */
li > ul, li > ol, li > dl,
dd > ul, dd > ol, dd > dl,
dl > dd > dl {
  margin-top: initial;
}
/* Elements that should not be rendered on the same line as a <dt> */
/* This should match the element list in writer.text.TextWriter.render_dl() */
dd > div.artwork:first-child,
dd > aside:first-child,
dd > figure:first-child,
dd > ol:first-child,
dd > div:first-child > pre.sourcecode,
dd > table:first-child,
dd > ul:first-child {
  clear: left;
}
/* fix for weird browser behaviour when <dd/> is empty */
dt+dd:empty::before{
  content: "\00a0";
}
/* Make paragraph spacing inside <li> smaller than in body text, to fit better within the list */
li > p {
  margin-bottom: 0.5em
}
/* Don't let p margin spill out from inside list items */
li > p:last-of-type {
  margin-bottom: 0;
}
</style>
<link href="rfc-local.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<link href="https://dx.doi.org/10.17487/rfc9226" rel="alternate">
  <link href="urn:issn:2070-1721" rel="alternate">
  <link href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-breen-bioctal-00" rel="prev">
  </head>
<body>
<script src="https://www.rfc-editor.org/js/metadata.min.js"></script>
<table class="ears">
<thead><tr>
<td class="left">RFC 9226</td>
<td class="center">Bioctal: Hexadecimal 2.0</td>
<td class="right">April 2022</td>
</tr></thead>
<tfoot><tr>
<td class="left">Breen</td>
<td class="center">Experimental</td>
<td class="right">[Page]</td>
</tr></tfoot>
</table>
<div id="external-metadata" class="document-information"></div>
<div id="internal-metadata" class="document-information">
<dl id="identifiers">
<dt class="label-stream">Stream:</dt>
<dd class="stream">Independent Submission</dd>
<dt class="label-rfc">RFC:</dt>
<dd class="rfc"><a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9226" class="eref">9226</a></dd>
<dt class="label-category">Category:</dt>
<dd class="category">Experimental</dd>
<dt class="label-published">Published:</dt>
<dd class="published">
<time datetime="2022-04-01" class="published">1 April 2022</time>
    </dd>
<dt class="label-issn">ISSN:</dt>
<dd class="issn">2070-1721</dd>
<dt class="label-authors">Author:</dt>
<dd class="authors">
<div class="author">
      <div class="author-name">M. Breen</div>
<div class="org">mbreen.com</div>
</div>
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<h1 id="rfcnum">RFC 9226</h1>
<h1 id="title">Bioctal: Hexadecimal 2.0</h1>
<section id="section-abstract">
      <h2 id="abstract"><a href="#abstract" class="selfRef">Abstract</a></h2>
<p id="section-abstract-1">The prevailing hexadecimal system was chosen for
congruence with groups of four binary digits, but its design
exhibits an indifference to cognitive factors.
An alternative is introduced that is designed to reduce
brain cycles in cases where a hexadecimal number should be
readily convertible to binary by a human being.<a href="#section-abstract-1" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
</section>
<div id="status-of-memo">
<section id="section-boilerplate.1">
        <h2 id="name-status-of-this-memo">
<a href="#name-status-of-this-memo" class="section-name selfRef">Status of This Memo</a>
        </h2>
<p id="section-boilerplate.1-1">
            This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
            published for examination, experimental implementation, and
            evaluation.<a href="#section-boilerplate.1-1" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-boilerplate.1-2">
            This document defines an Experimental Protocol for the Internet
            community.  This is a contribution to the RFC Series,
            independently of any other RFC stream.  The RFC Editor has chosen to publish this
            document at its discretion and makes no statement about its value
            for implementation or deployment.  Documents approved for publication
            by the RFC Editor are not candidates for any level of Internet
            Standard; see Section 2 of RFC 7841.<a href="#section-boilerplate.1-2" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-boilerplate.1-3">
            Information about the current status of this document, any
            errata, and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
            <span><a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9226">https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9226</a></span>.<a href="#section-boilerplate.1-3" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="copyright">
<section id="section-boilerplate.2">
        <h2 id="name-copyright-notice">
<a href="#name-copyright-notice" class="section-name selfRef">Copyright Notice</a>
        </h2>
<p id="section-boilerplate.2-1">
            Copyright (c) 2022 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
            document authors. All rights reserved.<a href="#section-boilerplate.2-1" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-boilerplate.2-2">
            This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
            Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
            (<span><a href="https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info">https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info</a></span>) in effect on the date of
            publication of this document. Please review these documents
            carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with
            respect to this document.<a href="#section-boilerplate.2-2" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="toc">
<section id="section-toc.1">
        <a href="#" onclick="scroll(0,0)" class="toplink">▲</a><h2 id="name-table-of-contents">
<a href="#name-table-of-contents" class="section-name selfRef">Table of Contents</a>
        </h2>
<nav class="toc"><ul class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty">
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.1">
            <p id="section-toc.1-1.1.1"><a href="#section-1" class="xref">1</a>.  <a href="#name-introduction" class="xref">Introduction</a></p>
<ul class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty">
<li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.1.2.1">
                <p id="section-toc.1-1.1.2.1.1" class="keepWithNext"><a href="#section-1.1" class="xref">1.1</a>.  <a href="#name-the-pernicious-advance-of-h" class="xref">The Pernicious Advance of Hexadecimal</a></p>
</li>
              <li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.1.2.2">
                <p id="section-toc.1-1.1.2.2.1" class="keepWithNext"><a href="#section-1.2" class="xref">1.2</a>.  <a href="#name-problems-with-hexadecimal" class="xref">Problems with Hexadecimal</a></p>
</li>
              <li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.1.2.3">
                <p id="section-toc.1-1.1.2.3.1" class="keepWithNext"><a href="#section-1.3" class="xref">1.3</a>.  <a href="#name-other-proposals" class="xref">Other Proposals</a></p>
</li>
            </ul>
</li>
          <li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.2">
            <p id="section-toc.1-1.2.1"><a href="#section-2" class="xref">2</a>.  <a href="#name-bioctal" class="xref">Bioctal</a></p>
</li>
          <li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.3">
            <p id="section-toc.1-1.3.1"><a href="#section-3" class="xref">3</a>.  <a href="#name-objections-to-be-dismissed" class="xref">Objections to Be Dismissed</a></p>
</li>
          <li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.4">
            <p id="section-toc.1-1.4.1"><a href="#section-4" class="xref">4</a>.  <a href="#name-security-considerations" class="xref">Security Considerations</a></p>
</li>
          <li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.5">
            <p id="section-toc.1-1.5.1"><a href="#section-5" class="xref">5</a>.  <a href="#name-iana-considerations" class="xref">IANA Considerations</a></p>
</li>
          <li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.6">
            <p id="section-toc.1-1.6.1"><a href="#section-6" class="xref">6</a>.  <a href="#name-conclusion" class="xref">Conclusion</a></p>
</li>
          <li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.7">
            <p id="section-toc.1-1.7.1"><a href="#section-7" class="xref">7</a>.  <a href="#name-informative-references" class="xref">Informative References</a></p>
</li>
          <li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.8">
            <p id="section-toc.1-1.8.1"><a href="#appendix-A" class="xref"></a><a href="#name-acknowledgments" class="xref">Acknowledgments</a></p>
</li>
          <li class="compact toc ulBare ulEmpty" id="section-toc.1-1.9">
            <p id="section-toc.1-1.9.1"><a href="#appendix-B" class="xref"></a><a href="#name-authors-address" class="xref">Author's Address</a></p>
</li>
        </ul>
</nav>
</section>
</div>
<div id="introduction">
<section id="section-1">
      <h2 id="name-introduction">
<a href="#section-1" class="section-number selfRef">1. </a><a href="#name-introduction" class="section-name selfRef">Introduction</a>
      </h2>
<div id="the-pernicious-advance-of-hexadecimal">
<section id="section-1.1">
        <h3 id="name-the-pernicious-advance-of-h">
<a href="#section-1.1" class="section-number selfRef">1.1. </a><a href="#name-the-pernicious-advance-of-h" class="section-name selfRef">The Pernicious Advance of Hexadecimal</a>
        </h3>
<p id="section-1.1-1">Octal has long been used to represent groups of three binary
digits as single characters, and that system has the
considerable merit of not requiring any digits
other than those already familiar from decimal numbers.
Unfortunately, the increasing use of 16-bit machines and
other machines that have word lengths that are evenly divisible
by four (but not by three) has led to the widespread adoption of
hexadecimal.
<a href="#hex_alpha" class="xref">Table 1</a> presents the digits of the hexadecimal alphabet.<a href="#section-1.1-1" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<span id="name-the-hexadecimal-alphabet"></span><div id="hex_alpha">
<table class="center" id="table-1">
          <caption>
<a href="#table-1" class="selfRef">Table 1</a>:
<a href="#name-the-hexadecimal-alphabet" class="selfRef">The Hexadecimal Alphabet</a>
          </caption>
<thead>
            <tr>
              <th class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">Value</th>
              <th class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">Digit</th>
            </tr>
          </thead>
          <tbody>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">0</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">0</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">1</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">1</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">2</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">2</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">3</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">3</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">4</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">4</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">5</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">5</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">6</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">6</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">7</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">7</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">8</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">8</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">9</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">9</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">10</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">A</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">11</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">B</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">12</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">C</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">13</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">D</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">14</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">E</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td class="text-right" rowspan="1" colspan="1">15</td>
              <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">F</td>
            </tr>
          </tbody>
        </table>
</div>
<p id="section-1.1-3">The choice of alphabet is clearly arbitrary: On the exhaustion of
the decimal digits, the first letters of the Latin alphabet are
used in sequence for the remaining hexadecimal digits.
An arbitrary alphabet may be acceptable on an interim or
experimental basis.
However, given the diminishing likelihood of a return to 18-bit
computing,
a review of this choice of alphabet is merited before its use,
like that of the QWERTY keyboard, becomes too deeply established
to permit the easy adoption of a more logical alternative.<a href="#section-1.1-3" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="problems-with-hexadecimal">
<section id="section-1.2">
        <h3 id="name-problems-with-hexadecimal">
<a href="#section-1.2" class="section-number selfRef">1.2. </a><a href="#name-problems-with-hexadecimal" class="section-name selfRef">Problems with Hexadecimal</a>
        </h3>
<p id="section-1.2-1">One problem with the hexadecimal alphabet is well known: It contains
two vowels, and numbers expressed in hexadecimal have been found
to collide with words offensive to vegetarians and other groups.<a href="#section-1.2-1" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-1.2-2">Imposing a greater constraint on the solution space, however, is
the difficulty of mentally converting a number
expressed in hexadecimal to (or from) binary.
Consider the hexadecimal digit 'D', for example.
First, one must remember that 'D' represents a value of 13 --
and, while it may be easy to recall that 'F' is 15 with all bits set,
for digits in the middle of the non-decimal range, such as
'C' and 'D', one may resort to counting ("A is ten, B is eleven, ...").
Next, one must subtract eight from that number to arrive at a
number that is in the octal range.
Thus, the benefit of representing one additional bit incurs the
cost of two additional mental operations before one arrives at
the position where the task that remains reduces to the difficulty
of converting the remaining three digits to binary.<a href="#section-1.2-2" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-1.2-3">These mental steps are not difficult per se,
since a child could do them, but if it is possible to avoid
employing children, then it should be avoided.
An appeal to the authority of cognitive psychology
is perhaps also due here, in particular to
the "seven plus or minus two" principle
<span>[<a href="#Miller" class="xref">Miller</a>]</span>
-- either because octal is within the upper end of that range (nine)
and hexadecimal is not,
or else because the difference in the size of the alphabets
is greater than the lower end of that range (five).
Either way, it is almost certainly relevant.<a href="#section-1.2-3" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="other-proposals">
<section id="section-1.3">
        <h3 id="name-other-proposals">
<a href="#section-1.3" class="section-number selfRef">1.3. </a><a href="#name-other-proposals" class="section-name selfRef">Other Proposals</a>
        </h3>
<p id="section-1.3-1">Various alternatives have already been suggested.
Some of these are equally arbitrary, e.g., in selecting the
last six letters of the Latin alphabet rather than
the first six letters.<a href="#section-1.3-1" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-1.3-2">The scheme that comes closest to solving the main problem
to date is described by Bruce A. Martin
<span>[<a href="#Martin" class="xref">Martin</a>]</span> who proposes new characters for the entire octal alphabet.
While his principal motivation is to distinguish hexadecimal
numbers from decimals, the design of each character uses
horizontal lines to directly represent the "ones" of the
corresponding binary number, making mental translation
to binary a trivial task.<a href="#section-1.3-2" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-1.3-3">Unfortunately for this and other proposals involving new symbols,
proposals to change the US-ASCII character set <span>[<a href="#USASCII" class="xref">USASCII</a>]</span> might no longer be
accepted.
Also, it seems unrealistic to expect keyboards or printer
type elements (whether of the golf ball or daisy wheel kind)
to be replaced to accommodate new character designs.<a href="#section-1.3-3" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
</section>
</div>
</section>
</div>
<div id="bioctal">
<section id="section-2">
      <h2 id="name-bioctal">
<a href="#section-2" class="section-number selfRef">2. </a><a href="#name-bioctal" class="section-name selfRef">Bioctal</a>
      </h2>
<p id="section-2-1"><a href="#hex_seq_octaves" class="xref">Table 2</a> presents the hexadecimal alphabet once again, this time
in a sequence of two octaves with values increasing left to right
and top to bottom.<a href="#section-2-1" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<span id="name-the-hexadecimal-alphabet-in"></span><div id="hex_seq_octaves">
<table class="center" id="table-2">
        <caption>
<a href="#table-2" class="selfRef">Table 2</a>:
<a href="#name-the-hexadecimal-alphabet-in" class="selfRef">The Hexadecimal Alphabet in Sequential Octaves</a>
        </caption>
<tbody>
          <tr>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">0</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">1</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">2</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">3</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">4</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">5</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">6</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">7</td>
          </tr>
          <tr>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">8</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">9</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">A</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">B</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">C</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">D</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">E</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">F</td>
          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>
</div>
<p id="section-2-3">Arranged thus, the binary representation of each digit in the
second octave is the same as the digit above it, but with the
most significant of the four bits set to '1' instead of '0'.<a href="#section-2-3" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-2-4">The incongruity of two decimal digits in the second octave
also suggests that, in blindly aligning with four bits,
hexadecimal (six plus ten, neither of which are powers of two)
misses an opportunity to align also with three bits.<a href="#section-2-4" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-2-5">Bioctal restores congruence by replacing the second row with
characters mnemonically related to the corresponding character
in the first octave.<a href="#section-2-5" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-2-6">
<a href="#bioctal_seq_octaves" class="xref">Table 3</a> shows the compelling result.<a href="#section-2-6" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<span id="name-bioctal-in-sequential-octav"></span><div id="bioctal_seq_octaves">
<table class="center" id="table-3">
        <caption>
<a href="#table-3" class="selfRef">Table 3</a>:
<a href="#name-bioctal-in-sequential-octav" class="selfRef">Bioctal in Sequential Octaves</a>
        </caption>
<tbody>
          <tr>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">0</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">1</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">2</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">3</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">4</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">5</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">6</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">7</td>
          </tr>
          <tr>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">c</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">j</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">z</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">w</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">f</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">s</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">b</td>
            <td class="text-left" rowspan="1" colspan="1">v</td>
          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>
</div>
<p id="section-2-8">The mnemonic basis is the shape of the lowercase character.
This is seen directly for '2', '5', and '6'.
For '3', '4', and '7', the corresponding letters are
the result of a quarter-turn clockwise (assuming an "open" '4').
The choice of 'c' and 'j' for '0' and '1' avoids vowels and
lowercase 'L', the latter being confusable with '1' in some fonts.<a href="#section-2-8" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-2-9">With this choice of letters, it is immediately evident that
both problems with hexadecimal are solved.
Mental conversion is now straightforward: if the digit is a
letter, then the most significant of the four binary bits is '1',
and the remaining three bits are the same as for the Arabic numeral
with the same shape in the first octave.<a href="#section-2-9" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="objections-to-be-dismissed">
<section id="section-3">
      <h2 id="name-objections-to-be-dismissed">
<a href="#section-3" class="section-number selfRef">3. </a><a href="#name-objections-to-be-dismissed" class="section-name selfRef">Objections to Be Dismissed</a>
      </h2>
<p id="section-3-1">Several objections can be anticipated, the first of which
concerns the name.
The term "bioctal" is already used to refer to the combination
of two octal characters into a single field on, for example,
paper tape (e.g., <span>[<a href="#UNIVAC" class="xref">UNIVAC</a>]</span>).
However, if the word "bioctal" must be disadvantaged relative
to words such as "biannual" in the number of meanings it is
allowed to have, then it is the paper tapers who must give way:
in that context, the "octal" part of "bioctal" refers to the number
of distinct values that three bits can have, while the "bi" refers
to a doubling of the number of bits, not values.
A meaning depending on such a discordant etymology does not
deserve to endure.<a href="#section-3-1" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-3-2">Second, it may be argued that the use of hexadecimal has
already become too entrenched to be changed in the short term:
Bioctal should be introduced only after those working in the
industry who have grown accustomed to hexadecimal have retired.
Such a dilatory contention cannot be allowed to impede
the march of progress.
Instead, any data entry technician who claims to have difficulty with
bioctal may be reassigned to duties involving only binary numbers.<a href="#section-3-2" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-3-3">A third possible objection is that numbers in bioctal do not
sort numerically.
However, this assumes a sort based on the US-ASCII order of symbols;
it is quite possible that bioctal numbers sort naturally in some
lesser known variety of EBCDIC.
Further, resistance to numeric sorting may be an indicator of virtue,
being suggestive of an alphabet with a certain strength of character.<a href="#section-3-3" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-3-4">One difficulty remains: Not all computers support lowercase letters.
While this is indeed true,
it should be confirmed in any particular instance:
the author has observed that in many cases a machine having a
keyboard with buttons marked only with uppercase letters also
supports lowercase letters.
In any case, it is permissible to use uppercase letters
instead of the lowercase ones of <a href="#bioctal_seq_octaves" class="xref">Table 3</a>;
the morphology mnemonic continues to work for most bioctal digits
in uppercase, although an extra mental cycle is required for 'B'.<a href="#section-3-4" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="security-considerations">
<section id="section-4">
      <h2 id="name-security-considerations">
<a href="#section-4" class="section-number selfRef">4. </a><a href="#name-security-considerations" class="section-name selfRef">Security Considerations</a>
      </h2>
<p id="section-4-1">The letters 'b' and 'f' appear in both the bioctal and hexadecimal
alphabets, which makes potential misinterpretation a concern.
A case of particular hazard arises where two embedded systems engineers
work to develop a miniature lizard detector
designed to be worn like a wristwatch.
One engineer works on the lizard proximity sensor and
the other on a minimal two-character display.
The interface between the circuits is 14 bits.
To make things easier, the engineer working on the display arranges
for these bits to be set in a pattern that allows them to be used
directly as two seven-bit US-ASCII characters indicating the
most significant lacertilian species detected in the vicinity of the
device.
Due to the use of an old US-ASCII table (i.e., one in hex, not bioctal)
and human error, some of the values specified as outputs for
the detection subsystem are in hexadecimal, not the bioctal the
engineer developing that subsystem expects --
including, in the case of one type of lizard, "4b 4f".
The result is that the detector displays "NL" (No Lizards)
when it should display "KO" (Komodo dragon).
This may be considered prejudicial to the security of the user
of the device.<a href="#section-4-1" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
<p id="section-4-2">Extensive research has uncovered no other security-related scenarios
to date.<a href="#section-4-2" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="iana">
<section id="section-5">
      <h2 id="name-iana-considerations">
<a href="#section-5" class="section-number selfRef">5. </a><a href="#name-iana-considerations" class="section-name selfRef">IANA Considerations</a>
      </h2>
<p id="section-5-1">                                                                                     
        This document has no IANA actions.<a href="#section-5-1" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="conclusion">
<section id="section-6">
      <h2 id="name-conclusion">
<a href="#section-6" class="section-number selfRef">6. </a><a href="#name-conclusion" class="section-name selfRef">Conclusion</a>
      </h2>
<p id="section-6-1">Bioctal is a significant advance over hexadecimal technology
and promises to reduce the small (but assuredly non-zero)
contribution to anthropogenic global warming of mental hex-to-binary
conversions.
Since the mnemonic basis of the alphabet is independent of English
or any other particular natural language,
there is no reason that it should not be adopted immediately around
the world, excepting perhaps certain islands of Indonesia
to which <em>Varanus komodoensis</em> is native.<a href="#section-6-1" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
</section>
</div>
<section id="section-7">
      <h2 id="name-informative-references">
<a href="#section-7" class="section-number selfRef">7. </a><a href="#name-informative-references" class="section-name selfRef">Informative References</a>
      </h2>
<dl class="references">
<dt id="Martin">[Martin]</dt>
      <dd>
<span class="refAuthor">Martin, B. A.</span>, <span class="refTitle">"Letters to the editor: On binary notation"</span>, <span class="refContent">Communications of the ACM, Vol. 11, No. 10</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">DOI 10.1145/364096.364107</span>, <time datetime="1968-10" class="refDate">October 1968</time>, <span>&lt;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/364096.364107">https://doi.org/10.1145/364096.364107</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="Miller">[Miller]</dt>
      <dd>
<span class="refAuthor">Miller, G. A.</span>, <span class="refTitle">"The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information"</span>, <span class="refContent">Psychological Review, Vol. 101, No. 2</span>, <time datetime="1956" class="refDate">1956</time>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="UNIVAC">[UNIVAC]</dt>
      <dd>
<span class="refAuthor">Sperry Rand Corporation</span>, <span class="refTitle">"Programmers Reference Manual for UNIVAC 1218 Computer"</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">Revision C</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">Update 2</span>, <time datetime="1969-11" class="refDate">November 1969</time>, <span>&lt;<a href="http:/bitsavers.computerhistory.org/pdf/univac/military/1218/PX2910_Univac1218PgmrRef_Nov69.pdf">http:/bitsavers.computerhistory.org/pdf/univac/military/1218/PX2910_Univac1218PgmrRef_Nov69.pdf</a>&gt;</span>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
<dt id="USASCII">[USASCII]</dt>
    <dd>
<span class="refAuthor">American National Standards Institute</span>, <span class="refTitle">"Coded Character Set -- 7-bit American Standard Code for Information Interchange"</span>, <span class="seriesInfo">ANSI X3.4</span>, <time datetime="1986" class="refDate">1986</time>. </dd>
<dd class="break"></dd>
</dl>
</section>
<div id="acknowledgments">
<section id="appendix-A">
      <h2 id="name-acknowledgments">
<a href="#name-acknowledgments" class="section-name selfRef">Acknowledgments</a>
      </h2>
<p id="appendix-A-1">The author is indebted to <span class="contact-name">R. Goldberg</span> for assistance with <a href="#security-considerations" class="xref">Section 4</a>.<a href="#appendix-A-1" class="pilcrow">¶</a></p>
</section>
</div>
<div id="authors-addresses">
<section id="appendix-B">
      <h2 id="name-authors-address">
<a href="#name-authors-address" class="section-name selfRef">Author's Address</a>
      </h2>
<address class="vcard">
        <div dir="auto" class="left"><span class="fn nameRole">Michael Breen</span></div>
<div dir="auto" class="left"><span class="org">mbreen.com</span></div>
<div class="email">
<span>Email:</span>
<a href="mailto:rfc@mbreen.com" class="email">rfc@mbreen.com</a>
</div>
</address>
</section>
</div>
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