Final answer:
Problems can occur in sending integers over the Internet due to endian-ness differences, leading to data misinterpretation. To resolve this, a standard network byte order is used and bytes are reversed if necessary to ensure consistent data encoding and decoding.
Step-by-step explanation:
When sending a message containing a string of integers over the Internet, issues may arise if the sending and receiving machines have different byte order or "endian-ness". This difference means that the binary representation of the integers could be misinterpreted between systems, potentially corrupting the data upon receipt. This is akin to the concept of people from different parts of the world trying to communicate despite having different languages or writing systems.
To solve these problems, a common approach is to use network byte order, which is a standard way of representing numeric values that is consistent across different systems. Network byte order is typically big-endian. Therefore, when a sending machine is in little-endian format, the bytes must be reversed (or 'swapped') before transmission so that the receiving machine, which may be expecting big-endian format, can interpret them correctly. This process must be reversed upon receipt if the receiver is little-endian. This method ensures that the integers are encoded and decoded consistently, regardless of the endian-ness of the sending and receiving machines.