Editing Binary file (section)

== Interpretation ==

Standards are very important to binary files.  For example, a binary file interpreted by the ASCII character set will result in text being displayed.  A custom application can interpret the file differently: a byte may be a sound, or a pixel, or even an entire word.  Binary itself is meaningless, until such time as an executed algorithm defines what should be done with each bit, byte, word or block.  Thus, just examining the binary and attempting to match it against known formats can lead to the wrong conclusion as to what it actually represents.  This fact can be used in [[steganography]], where an algorithm interprets a binary data file differently to reveal hidden content.  Without the algorithm, it is impossible to tell that hidden content exists.