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→Binary Representation of Data
* Fixed-point
** A fixed-point value is encoded the same as an integer, except that some of the bits are fractional -- they're considered to be to the right of the "binary point" (binary version of "decimal point" - or more generically, the ''radix point''). For example, binary 000001.00 is decimal 1.0, and 000001.11 is decimal 1.75.
** An alternative to fixed-point values is integer values in a smaller unit of measurement. For example, some accounting software may use integer values representing cents. For input and display purposes, dollar -and -cent values are converted to/from cent values.
* Floating-point
** Floating point numbers have three parts: a ''sign bit'' (0 for positive, 1 for negative), a ''mantissa'' or ''significand'', and an ''exponent''. The value is interpreted as <code>''sign'' mantissa * 2<sup>exponent</sup></code>.
