“Little Endian and Big Endian” are two different ways of storing multi-byte data types like integers, floating-point numbers, etc., in computer memory.
The architecture of the processor determines the choice between these two types. Little type is commonly used in x86 and x86-64 architectures, while Big type may be used in some older architectures and network protocols. The endianness of a system can affect data interchange between systems with different endianness.
- Little and big are two ways of storing multibyte data types ( int, float, etc).
To illustrate this, let’s consider a 4-byte integer 0x12345678:
Contents
Big Type
In this type of system, the lowest memory address stores the most significant byte (referred to as the “big end”) of a multi-byte data type, while subsequent bytes store in decreasing order of significance. That is, the most significant byte comes first.
In this type, it would be stored as 12 34 56 78 in memory, with the most significant byte 12 stored at the lowest memory address.
Little Type
In a Little type system, multi-byte data types store the least significant byte (referred to as the “little end”) at the lowest memory address, with subsequent bytes arranged in increasing order of significance. That is, the least significant byte comes first.
In Little Type, it would be stored as 78 56 34 12 in memory, with the least significant byte 78 stored at the lowest memory address.
Example-1: Understanding of Little Endian and Big Endian
Lets assume the value 0x01234567 (4Byte Data) will be going to store in Memory.
The below Image Link
Example-2: Understanding
Lets assume the value 0xFFAA5500 (4Byte Data) will be going to store in address from 4000 to 40003.
Little Type
| Address | Data |
|---|---|
| 4003 | FF |
| 4002 | AA |
| 4001 | 55 |
| 4000 | 00 |
Big Type
| Address | Data |
|---|---|
| 4003 | 00 |
| 4002 | 55 |
| 4001 | AA |
| 4000 | FF |
Example-3: Understanding
Let’s assume the value 0x6573A429 (4Byte Data) will be going to store in a 32-bit machine address from 20008 to 20000B.
| Address | Little Type | Big Endian Type |
|---|---|---|
| 20008 | 65 | 65 |
| 20009 | 73 | 73 |
| 2000A | A4 | A4 |
| 2000B | 65 | 29 |
C Example Code
Advantage and Disadvantage
Certainly! Here’s a table summarizing the advantages and disadvantages of Little Type and Big Type:
| Aspect | Little Endian | Big Endian |
|---|---|---|
| Advantages | ||
| Efficiency | Efficient memory access due to direct access to least significant byte | Human-readable representation aligning with natural digit order |
| Conversion Ease | Simplified byte swapping operations for data interchange | Consistency with some network protocols and file formats |
| Compatibility | ||
| Disadvantages | ||
| Compatibility | Potential compatibility issues when interacting with Big Endian systems | Byte swapping overhead for data interchange with Little Endian systems |
| Memory Access | Less efficient memory access due to potential byte swapping |