title: 1x10^49 in decimal - how binary bits is that and how would you convert it to binary?
body: <p>I've encountered a website that uses a 50-digit decimal integer ID in a URL query string, which seems a little excessive.</p>
  
  <p>The smallest 50-digit decimal number is <code>1.0 x 10^49</code>, otherwise known as:</p>
  
  <pre><code>1000000000
  0000000000
  0000000000
  0000000000
  0000000000
  </code></pre>
  
  <ol>
  <li>How many bits would the binary representation contain?</li>
  <li>How would you approach converting such a large decimal number to binary, taking into consideration the range limit of unsigned 32-bit-integer or 64-bit integers?</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>I ask out of pure programmer curiosity only - this is not a college question, work problem or interview puzzle!</p>