title: How do computers translate everything to binary? When they see a binary code, how do they know if it represents a number or a word or an instruction?
body: <p>I know how computers translate numbers to binary. But what I don't understand is that I've heard that computers translate everything (words, instructions, ...) to binary, not just numbers. How is this possible?</p>
  
  <p>Could you show me some examples? Like how does a computer translate the letter "A" to binary?</p>
  
  <p>And when computers see a binary code, how can they know if that long string of 0s and 1s represents a number or a word or an instruction?</p>
  
  <p>.</p>
  
  <p>Exemple:</p>
  
  <p>Let's say that a computer programmer encoded the letter "Z" so that it translates to this binary string: 11011001111011010111</p>
  
  <p>So when the computer will encounter this binary string, it will translate it to the letter "Z".</p>
  
  <p>But what happens when we ask this computer "what is the product of 709 by 1259?"</p>
  
  <p>The computer would answer us "892631". But that number, when translated to binary, is 11011001111011010111.</p>
  
  <p>So how would it make a difference between "Z" and "892631"?</p>
  
  <p>.</p>
  
  <p>Please note that I don't know much about computer science, so please explain everything in simple terms.</p>