floating-point
<programming> A number representation consisting of a mantissa, M, an
exponent, E, and an (assumed) radix (or "base") . The number represented is
M*R^E where R is the radix - usually ten but sometimes 2.
Many different representations are used for the mantissa and exponent
themselves. The IEEE specify a standard representation which is used by many
hardware floating-point systems.
See also floating-point accelerator, floating-point unit.
Normalisation is the process of converting a floating point number into
canonical form where any number other than zero has a mantissa whose first digit
is non-zero.
Opposite: fixed-point.
(1995-03-21)
Nearby terms:
flippy « FLIP-SPUR « floating head «
floating-point » floating-point accelerator »
Floating-Point SPECbaserate » Floating-Point
SPECbaseratio
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