Binary – What is “two’s complement”?

Two’s complement is a method for representing signed integers in binary form. It is widely used in computer systems to handle both positive and negative numbers efficiently. In this system, the most significant bit (MSB) indicates the sign of the number: 0 for positive and 1 for negative. To obtain the two’s complement of a number, invert all the bits and add one to the result. This technique simplifies binary arithmetic operations, such as addition and subtraction, as it allows negative numbers to be handled in the same way as positive numbers, improving computational efficiency.