An IPv4 address is a 32 bit string of bits. That 32 bit value can be represented in many different ways, but none of those ways are IPv4 addresses. The actual a

An IPv4 address is a 32 bit string of bits. That 32 bit value can be represented in many different ways, but none of those ways are IPv4 addresses. The actual address is that string of 32 bits, and that is what is used in the TCP stack inside your OS or your router.