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March 28th, 2011, 12:34 PM
#1
Why not decimal?
Why do computers handle only bits and bytes ?
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March 28th, 2011, 12:39 PM
#2
Re: Why not decimal?
I read google results , people say it is hard to handle a decimal, flip its sign etc. but I think
to flip a sign from minus to plus is easy
e.g +1 and -1 but clearly it takes long time to format a number from input to computer compatible form then to reformat the result for user's review
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March 28th, 2011, 01:50 PM
#3
Re: Why not decimal?
Computers are made out of bits. That's the only thing they know. Go read some info on how the architecture of a chip works.
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March 28th, 2011, 02:20 PM
#4
Re: Why not decimal?
Computers operate on numbers in base 2 format, because that's all they can know. A transistor can only have two states, on or off.
Viggy
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March 28th, 2011, 03:45 PM
#5
Re: Why not decimal?
 Originally Posted by Sharpie
I read google results , people say it is hard to handle a decimal, flip its sign etc. but I think
to flip a sign from minus to plus is easy
e.g +1 and -1 but clearly it takes long time to format a number from input to computer compatible form then to reformat the result for user's review
For you and me it's easy to flip the sign .. however in PC architecture +1 and -1 are stored very differently ...
using Int16.. +1 = &H0001 and -1 = &HFFFF
The thing is this method allows easier method to perform maths on the numbers..
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