How are octal values interpreted?

Octal values are interpreted as base-8 numbers. The base or radix of a number system refers to how many unique digits, including zero, are used to represent numbers. In the case of octal, the digits range from 0 to 7. This means that in octal notation, each place represents a power of 8.

For example, the octal number 17 in base-8 translates to (1 \times 8^1 + 7 \times 8^0) in decimal, which equals (8 + 7 = 15). This understanding of octal as a base-8 system is crucial for converting between different numeral systems and understanding how computers interpret values.

Other number systems such as binary (base-2), decimal (base-10), and hexadecimal (base-16) use different ranges and powers, which do not apply to octal values. Thus, recognizing that octal is specifically base-8 is essential for anyone working with different numeric representations in programming and computer science.