1.3.4 Byte Ordering
Some computer architectures number bytes in a binary word from left to right, which is referred to as big-endian. The byte numbering used for packet diagrams in this specification is big-endian. Other architectures number the bytes in a binary word from right to left, which is referred to as little-endian. The byte numbering used for enumerations, objects, and records in this specification is little-endian.
Using big-endian and little-endian methods, the number 0x12345678 would be stored as shown in the following table:
Byte order |
Byte 0 |
Byte 1 |
Byte 2 |
Byte 3 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Big-endian |
0x12 |
0x34 |
0x56 |
0x78 |
Little-endian |
0x78 |
0x56 |
0x34 |
0x12 |