Question 1

Bit Depth

Accepted Answer

(or Color Depth) refers to the amount of computer memory dedicated to storing information about a single pixel. Modern standard displays use 24-bit color depth. This means 24 bits of data are used per pixel, divided evenly into three 8-bit segments for the red, green, and blue channels. Because 2 to the power of 8 equals 256, each channel has exactly 256 possible states. The Alpha Channel is a later addition to this model, representing the transparency or opacity of a color. When an alpha channel is added, the color depth increases to 32-bit (four 8-bit channels). Finally, the Color Space (specifically sRGB) is the standardized mathematical profile that defines exactly what physical hue of red, green, or blue corresponds to the maximum channel value of 255. Without a standardized color space, the RGB values are just arbitrary numbers; sRGB anchors those numbers to specific, measurable wavelengths of light.

Question 2

Can Hexadecimal codes represent transparent colors?

Accepted Answer

Yes, hexadecimal codes can represent transparency through the use of the 8-digit hex format (Hex8). By appending a fourth pair of characters to the standard six-digit code, you define the alpha channel. This pair ranges from 00 (completely transparent) to FF (completely opaque). For example, #00000080 represents black at approximately 50% opacity. However, this format was only standardized in CSS Color Module Level 4, so very old legacy browsers may not support it, preferring the rgba() format instead.

Question 3

Why do we use letters in Hexadecimal color codes?

Accepted Answer

We use letters because the hexadecimal system is a base-16 counting system, requiring 16 distinct symbols. The standard decimal system only provides ten numeric digits (0 through 9). To represent the values 10 through 15 as single characters, the system borrows the first six letters of the alphabet: A=10, B=11, C=12, D=13, E=14, and F=15. Without these letters, it would be impossible to express a 16-state value in a single character slot, which is mathematically necessary to map perfectly to an 8-bit binary byte.

Question 4

Are Hex and RGB exactly the same colors?

Accepted Answer

Yes, mathematically and visually, Hex and RGB represent the exact same colors within the sRGB color space. A code like #FF0000 and the function rgb(255, 0, 0) are just two different syntaxes for delivering the exact same machine instructions to the monitor. The rendering engine of the web browser translates both formats into the same binary data before sending it to the display hardware. There is zero difference in visual output, rendering speed, or color accuracy between the two formats.

Question 5

How do I convert RGB back to Hexadecimal?

Accepted Answer

To convert a base-10 RGB integer back to base-16 hexadecimal, you divide the number by 16. The whole number result becomes your first hex character, and the remainder becomes your second hex character. For example, to convert an RGB value of 200: 200 divided by 16 equals 12, with a remainder of 8. The number 12 translates to the letter 'C' in hex, and the remainder is 8. Therefore, the decimal integer 200 converts to the hex pair C8. You repeat this process for all three channels and combine them.

Question 6

What happens if I type an invalid Hex code in CSS?

Accepted Answer

If you provide an invalid hex code in CSS—such as missing the hash symbol (FFFFFF), using characters outside the A-F range (#FF00GG), or using an invalid string length like 5 characters (#12345)—the web browser's CSS parser will simply ignore the entire declaration. It treats the line as if it does not exist. The element will fall back to its default color or inherit the color from its parent element. Modern browsers do not attempt to "guess" or auto-correct malformed hex codes.

Question 7

Why do some hex codes only have 3 digits?

Accepted Answer

Three-digit hex codes are a standardized shorthand used in CSS to reduce file sizes. When a browser encounters a three-digit code like #F60, it automatically expands it to six digits by duplicating each individual character, resulting in #FF6600. This shorthand can only be utilized when the two characters representing each color channel (Red, Green, and Blue) are identical pairs. It was highly popular in the early days of the internet to save bandwidth, and remains a best practice today for code brevity.

Hex to RGB Converter

Command Palette