Introduction:

Binary and hexadecimal are essential number systems in computer science, used to represent data and communicate with computers at the lowest level. While binary consists of only 0s and 1s, hexadecimal extends the range to 16 unique symbols (0-9 and A-F). Converting hexadecimal to binary is a fundamental skill for programmers, as it enables them to understand and manipulate data efficiently. In this blog, we will explore multiple methods to perform this conversion in C#.

Method 1: Using Built-in Function

The .NET Framework provides a built-in method called Convert.ToString, which can be used to convert hexadecimal to binary directly. Let's demonstrate this method with a sample C# program:

using System;

class HexToBinaryConverter
{
    static void Main()
    {
        string hexValue = "1A3F";
        string binaryValue = Convert.ToString(Convert.ToInt32(hexValue, 16), 2);

        Console.WriteLine($"Hexadecimal: {hexValue}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Binary: {binaryValue}");
    }
}

Output:

Hexadecimal: 1A3F
Binary: 110100011111

In this method, we first use Convert.ToInt32 to convert the hexadecimal string to its equivalent integer value. The second argument (16) specifies that the input is in base 16 (hexadecimal). Next, we use Convert.ToString to convert the integer value to binary representation with the second argument set to 2.

Method 2: Manual Conversion with Bitwise Operations

An alternative approach involves manually converting each hexadecimal digit to its binary representation using bitwise operations. This method may seem more complicated, but it provides a deeper understanding of the conversion process. Let's see the implementation:

using System;

class HexToBinaryConverter
{
    static void Main()
    {
        string hexValue = "1A3F";
        string binaryValue = HexToBinary(hexValue);

        Console.WriteLine($"Hexadecimal: {hexValue}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Binary: {binaryValue}");
    }

    static string HexToBinary(string hex)
    {
        string binary = "";
        foreach (char c in hex)
        {
            int value = Convert.ToInt32(c.ToString(), 16);
            binary += Convert.ToString(value, 2).PadLeft(4, '0');
        }
        return binary;
    }
}

Output:

Hexadecimal: 1A3F
Binary: 0001101000111111

In this method, we define a custom function HexToBinary that iterates through each character of the hexadecimal string. For each character, we convert it to its integer value using Convert.ToInt32 with the base set to 16. Then, we convert this integer value to its binary representation using Convert.ToString with the base set to 2. To ensure each digit has four bits, we use PadLeft to add leading zeros if necessary.

Conclusion:

In this blog, we explored multiple methods to achieve this conversion in C#. We started with a straightforward built-in method and progressed to a manual approach using bitwise operations.