Base 36

Base 36 is a positional numeral system using 36 as the radix. The choice of 36 is convenient in that the digits can be represented using the Arabic numerals 0-9 and the Latin letters A-Z (the ISO basic Latin alphabet). Base 36 is therefore the most compact case-insensitive alphanumeric numeral system using ASCII characters, although its radix economy is poor.

From a mathematical viewpoint, 36, as with all highly composite numbers, is a convenient choice for a base in that it is divisible by both 2 and 3, and by their multiples 4, 6, 9, 12 and 18. Each base 36 digit can be represented as two base 6 digits.

The most common latinate name for base 36 seems to be hexatridecimal, although sexatrigesimal would arguably be more correct. The intermediate form hexatrigesimal is also sometimes used. For more background on this naming confusion, see the entry for hexadecimal. Another name occasionally seen for base 36 is alphadecimal, a neologism coined based on the fact that the system uses the decimal digits and the letters of the Latin alphabet.