The XDR language is based on the assumption that bytes (an octet) can be ported to, and encoded on, media that preserve the meaning of the bytes across the hardware boundaries of data. XDR does not represent bit fields or bit maps; it represents data in blocks of multiples of 4 bytes (32 bits). If the bytes needed to contain the data are not a multiple of four, enough (1 to 3) bytes to make the total byte count a multiple of four follow the n bytes. The bytes are read from, or written to, a byte stream in order. The order dictates that byte m precedes m+1. Bytes are ported and encoded from low order to high order in local area networks (LANs). Representing data in standardized formats resolves situations that occur when different byte-ordering formats exist on networked machines. This also enables machines with different structure-alignment algorithms to communicate with each other.