What is the binary system primarily used for in computers?

The binary system is fundamentally a base-2 numeral system that uses two symbols, typically 0 and 1, to represent data. In computing, this system is crucial because all forms of data—whether it's text, images, sounds, or programs—are ultimately represented in binary. Computers use binary to process and communicate information because their underlying hardware, including transistors and logical circuits, operates in a two-state (on/off) mechanism. This allows binary to serve as the language of computers, making it the foundation for how digital systems function, how data is encoded and stored, and how operations are performed at the lowest levels of computing architecture. This binary representation makes it possible for computers to perform tasks and manage complex computations using simple on/off states.

The other options, while related to the function of computers, do not capture the primary role of the binary system. Storing text files involves encoding characters into binary, but that is just one application of the binary system. Organizing hardware and displaying graphics may utilize binary data but do not define its core purpose. Hence, understanding the binary system as a communication method in a base-2 framework is essential to grasping the foundational principles of computer science.