Double-precision floating-point formatDouble-precision floating-point format (sometimes called FP64 or float64) is a floating-pointnumber format, usually occupying 64 bits in computer memory; it represents a wide range of numeric values by using a floating radix point. Double precision may be chosen when the range or precision of single precision would be insufficient. In the IEEE 754standard, the 64-bit base-2 format is officially referred to as binary64; it was called double in IEEE 754-1985.Computer number formatA computer number format is the internal representation of numeric values in digital device hardware and software, such as in programmable computers and calculators. Numerical values are stored as groupings of bits, such as bytes and words.
Fixed-point arithmeticIn computing, fixed-point is a method of representing fractional (non-integer) numbers by storing a fixed number of digits of their fractional part. Dollar amounts, for example, are often stored with exactly two fractional digits, representing the cents (1/100 of a dollar). More generally, the term may refer to representing fractional values as integer multiples of some fixed small unit, e.g., a fractional amount of hours as an integer multiple of ten-minute intervals.SignednessIn computing, signedness is a property of data types representing numbers in computer programs. A numeric variable is signed if it can represent both positive and negative numbers, and unsigned if it can only represent non-negative numbers (zero or positive numbers).IntegerAn integer is the number zero (0), a positive natural number (1, 2, 3, ...), or the negation of a positive natural number (−1, −2, −3, ...). The negations or additive inverses of the positive natural numbers are referred to as negative integers. The set of all integers is often denoted by the boldface Z or blackboard bold Z {\displaystyle \mathbb {Z} } .
Floating-point arithmeticComputer approximation for real numbersAn early electromechanical programmable computer, the Z3, included floating-point arithmetic (replica on display at Deutsches Museum in Munich).In computing, floating-point arithmetic (FP) is arithmetic on subsets of real numbers formed by a significand (a signed sequence of a fixed number of digits in some base) multiplied by an integer power of that base. Numbers of this form are called floating-point numbers.
IEEE 754The IEEE Standard for Floating-Point Arithmetic (IEEE 754) is a technical standard for floating-point arithmetic originally established in 1985 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The standard addressed many problems found in the diverse floating-point implementations that made them difficult to use reliably and portably. Many hardware floating-point units use the IEEE 754 standard.
32-bit computing32-bit computing refers to computer architectures with a processor, memory, and other major components that operate on 32-bit units of data. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calculations more efficiently and process more data per clock cycle. From the 1980s to about 2006, typical 32-bit personal computers had a 32-bit address bus, permitting up to 4 GiB of RAM to be accessed.IEEE 754-1985IEEE 754-1985 is a historic industry standard for representing floating-point numbers in computers, officially adopted in 1985 and superseded in 2008 by IEEE 754-2008, and then again in 2019 by minor revision IEEE 754-2019. During its 23 years, it was the most widely used format for floating-point computation. It was implemented in software, in the form of floating-point libraries, and in hardware, in the instructions of many CPUs and FPUs.
StandardizationStandardization (American English) or standardisation (British English) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that may include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardization can help maximize compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, efficiency, and quality. It can also facilitate a normalization of formerly custom processes.
Computer memoryComputer memory stores information, such as data and programs, for immediate use in the computer; instructions fetched by the computer, and data fetched and stored by those instructions, are located in computer memory. The terms memory, main memory, and primary storage are also used for computer memory. Computer memory is often referred to as RAM, meaning random-access memory, although some older forms of computer memory, such as drum memory, are not random-access.
Programming languageA programming language is an engineered language for expressing computer programs, typically allowing software to be written in a human readable manner. Execution of a program requires an implementation. There are two main approaches for implementing a programming language – compilation, where programs are translated ahead-of-time to machine code, and interpretation, where programs are directly executed.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.