In the punch card system, what number does the hole represent?

In the punch card system, the presence of a hole typically indicates a binary representation, with the hole signifying an active state or value. Each hole corresponds to a specific value based on its position in the system. When interpreting the holes in a binary context, a hole represents a '1', while the absence of a hole would represent '0'. Therefore, if a punch card contains a hole at a specific position, it indicates a value of '1' for that particular digit in the binary system.

The significance of this system lies in its capacity to store binary data, which is foundational to computing. Understanding this principle is essential because binary code is the language of computers, wherein combinations of '0's and '1's perform various functions and represent different values in computing.