Puneet Varma (Editor)

Hexspeak

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Hexspeak, like leetspeak, is a novelty form of variant English spelling using the hexadecimal numbers. Created by programmers as memorable magic numbers, hexspeak words can serve as a clear and unique identifier with which to mark memory or data.

Contents

Hexadecimal notation represents numbers using the 16 digits 0123456789ABCDEF. Using only the letters ABCDEF it is possible to spell several words. Further words can be made by treating some of the decimal numbers as letters - the digit "0" can represent the letter "O", and "1" can represent the letters "I" or "L". Less commonly, "5" can represent "S", "7" represent "T", "12" represent "R" and "6" or "9" can represent "G" or "g", respectively. Numbers such as 2 or 8 can be used in a manner similar to leet or rebuses; e.g. the word "defecate" can be expressed either as DEFECA7E or DEFEC8. (2 bears a resemblance to Z, but because that letter is the least used in the English language, such a usage is rare.)

Notable magic numbers

Many computer processors, operating systems, and debuggers make use of magic numbers, especially as a magic debug value.

Alternative letters

Many computer languages require that a hexadecimal number be marked with a prefix or suffix (or both) to identify it as a number. Sometimes the prefix or suffix is used as part of the word.

  • The C programming language uses the "0x" prefix to indicate a hexadecimal number, but the "0x" is usually ignored when reading it as a word. C also allows the suffix L to declare an integer as long, or LL to declare it as long long, making it possible to write "0xDEADCELL" (dead cell). In either case a U may also appear in the suffix to declare the integer as unsigned, making it possible to write "0xFEEDBULL" (feed bull).
  • In the Intel assembly language, hexadecimal numbers are denoted by a "h" suffix, making it possible to write "0beach" (beach). Note that numbers in this notation that begin with a letter must be prefixed with a zero to distinguish them from variable names.
  • Visual Basic uses a &H prefix, for example, "&HEADED" (headed).
  • In Pascal and 6502 assembly language, hexadecimal numbers are denoted by a "$" prefix. This allows for words starting with the letter "S", for example "$EED" (seed).
  • In Б3-34 programmable calculators alternative hexadecimal alphabet was used, where the symbol "−", "L", "C", "Г", "E", " " (space) were used instead of Latin letters. Using these it was possible to display messages like "EГГ0Г" (error).

    • References

    Hexspeak Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA