endianness
Endianness is a way we computer people talk about how we store data in our computer's memory. Think of it like a toy chest that we have to put all our toys in.
Some people like to put their toys in the toy chest with the big toys first and then the little ones second, this is called "big endian". Other people like to put their toys in the toy chest with the little toys first and the big toys second, this is called "little endian".
Now, imagine you have two toy boxes and you want to put them together. If they are both big endian or both little endian, it's pretty easy, you just combine them. But, if they are different, then you have a problem.
For computers, this problem can come up when we have to talk to other computers or devices. One computer might be big endian and another might be little endian, so they might not be able to understand each other's data. So, we have to make sure we know what kind of endian our computer is using and make sure we communicate with other devices using the same kind, or we have to convert the data so that they can understand each other.
Some people like to put their toys in the toy chest with the big toys first and then the little ones second, this is called "big endian". Other people like to put their toys in the toy chest with the little toys first and the big toys second, this is called "little endian".
Now, imagine you have two toy boxes and you want to put them together. If they are both big endian or both little endian, it's pretty easy, you just combine them. But, if they are different, then you have a problem.
For computers, this problem can come up when we have to talk to other computers or devices. One computer might be big endian and another might be little endian, so they might not be able to understand each other's data. So, we have to make sure we know what kind of endian our computer is using and make sure we communicate with other devices using the same kind, or we have to convert the data so that they can understand each other.