Characteristics of octal number system are as follows:
● Uses eight digits, 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7.
● Also called base 8 number system
● Each position in an octal number represents a 0 power of the base (8). Example 80
● Last position in an octal number represents a x power of the base (8). Example 8x where x represents the last position – 1.
Example
Octal Number : 125708
Calculating Decimal Equivalent:
| Step | Octal Number | Decimal Number |
| Step 1 | 125708 | ((1 x 84) + (2 x 83) + (5 x 82) + (7 x 81) + (0 x 80))10 |
| Step 2 | 125708 | (4096 + 1024 + 320 + 56 + 0)10 |
| Step 3 | 125708 | 549610 |
Note : 125708 is normally written as 12570.
