Scribd
Upload
33 views

Article 5 Binary Numbers

Tutorials on Binary Number System Part 5

Uploaded by

mhussain
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
33 views

Article 5 Binary Numbers

Tutorials on Binary Number System Part 5

Uploaded by

mhussain
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 10

Computer Science Dept Va Tech August, 1999 1995-1999 Barnette ND, McQuain WD, Keenan MA

1 15. Binary Numbers


Programming in C++
Binary Number System
Base 10 digits: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Base 2 digits: 0 1
Recall that in base 10, the digits of a number are just coefficients of powers of the base
(10):
417 = 4 * 10
2
+ 1 * 10
1
+ 7 * 10
0
Similarly, in base 2, the digits of a number are just coefficients of powers of the base (2):
1011 = 1 * 2
3
+ 0 * 2
2
+ 1 * 2
1
+ 1 * 2
0
Any real number can be represented in any base; humans generally use base 10, but
computer hardware generally uses base 2 representation.
Computer Science Dept Va Tech August, 1999 1995-1999 Barnette ND, McQuain WD, Keenan MA
2 15. Binary Numbers
Programming in C++
Converting from Base 10 to Base 2
The base 10 system is also known as the decimal system; base 2 is referred to as binary.
How can we convert an integer from decimal to binary? Here is a simple algorithm:
While N > 0 Do
Write N % 2 // remainder when N is divided by 2
N <-- N / 2 // divide N by 2
Endwhile
Note that the remainder will always be either 0 or 1, a binary digit or bit. The resulting
sequence of bits is the binary representation of the integer N.
See the next slide for an example...
Computer Science Dept Va Tech August, 1999 1995-1999 Barnette ND, McQuain WD, Keenan MA
3 15. Binary Numbers
Programming in C++
Converting Integers
Find the binary representation of the decimal integer N = 23:
Integer Remainder
23
11 1
5 1
2 1
1 0
0 1
So the decimal integer N = 23 is represented in base 2 as: 10111
Lets check that:
10111 = 1*2
4
+ 1*2
2
+ 1*2
1
+ 1*2
0
= 16 + 4 + 2 + 1
= 23
Note: we just
shifted from
base 2 to base 10
Computer Science Dept Va Tech August, 1999 1995-1999 Barnette ND, McQuain WD, Keenan MA
4 15. Binary Numbers
Programming in C++
Some Quick Tables
Here are some handy facts:
Power of 2 Base 2 Base 10
2
-4
.0001 .0625
2
-3
.001 .125
2
-2
.01 .25
2
-1
.1 .5
2
0
1 1
2
1
10 2
2
2
100 4
2
3
1000 8
2
4
10000 16
2
5
100000 32
2
6
1000000 64
2
7
10000000 128
2
8
100000000 256
N Binary
0 0
1 1
2 10
3 11
4 100
5 101
6 110
7 111
8 1000
9 1001
10 1010
11 1011
12 1100
13 1101
14 1110
15 1111
Computer Science Dept Va Tech August, 1999 1995-1999 Barnette ND, McQuain WD, Keenan MA
5 15. Binary Numbers
Programming in C++
Converting Fractions from Base 10 to Base 2
How can we convert a fraction from decimal to binary? Here is a simple algorithm:
While F != 0 Do
Multiply F by 2
Record the carry across the decimal point
F <-- the fractional part
Endwhile
Note that the carry will always be either 0 or 1, a binary digit or bit. The resulting
sequence of bits is the binary representation of the fraction F.
See the next slide for an example...
Computer Science Dept Va Tech August, 1999 1995-1999 Barnette ND, McQuain WD, Keenan MA
6 15. Binary Numbers
Programming in C++
Converting Fractions
Find the binary representation of the decimal fraction F = 0.3125:
Carry Fraction
.3125
0 .6250
1 .2500
0 .5000
1 .0000
So the decimal fraction F = 0.3125 is represented in base 2 as: .0101
Lets check that:
.0101 = 1*2
-2
+ 1*2
-4
= .25 + .0625
= .3125
Note: we just
shifted from
base 2 to base 10
Computer Science Dept Va Tech August, 1999 1995-1999 Barnette ND, McQuain WD, Keenan MA
7 15. Binary Numbers
Programming in C++
Converting a General Decimal Number
A general decimal number, like 43.375, would be converted to binary by converting the
integer and fractional parts separately (as shown earlier) and combining the results.
The decimal integer 43 would be represented in binary as:
101011
The fractional part .375 would be represented in binary as:
.011
So 43.375 would be represented in binary as: 101011.011
Integer Remainder
43
Carry Fraction
.375
Computer Science Dept Va Tech August, 1999 1995-1999 Barnette ND, McQuain WD, Keenan MA
8 15. Binary Numbers
Programming in C++
Of course, many decimal fractions have infinite decimal expansions. The same is true
of binary representation, but there are some (perhaps) surprising differences.
Consider the decimal fraction 0.1; how would this be represented in binary?
So 0.1 would be represented in binary as:
0.0 0011 0011 0011 0011.
Binary Representation and Precision
Carry Fraction
.1
0 .2
0 .4
0 .8
1 .6
1 .2
0 .4
0 .8
1 .6
1 .2
?? ??
Clearly, this pattern will now
repeat forever
Computer Science Dept Va Tech August, 1999 1995-1999 Barnette ND, McQuain WD, Keenan MA
9 15. Binary Numbers
Programming in C++
So 0.1 would be represented exactly in binary as: 0.0 0011 0011 0011 0011.
What would actually be stored in hardware? Suppose that we have a float variable:
float x = 0.1;
A float is stored in scientific form (but in binary):
0.0 0011 0011 0011 0011. =(1.1 0011 0011 0011.) * 2
-100
The exponent is stored using 7 bits and the fractional part is stored using 23 bits (with
two bits used for the signs). We cheat and dont store the first 1, so 0.1 would be
stored as:
-0000100 +.1 0011 0011 0011 0011 0011 00
Float Representation
Thats -4
in binary
Exponent Mantissa (fractional part)
Computer Science Dept Va Tech August, 1999 1995-1999 Barnette ND, McQuain WD, Keenan MA
10 15. Binary Numbers
Programming in C++
So 0.1 would be stored in hardware as:
-0000100 +.1 0011 0011 0011 0011 0011 00
Converting that to decimal, you have the value: 0.0999999940395355
Thats fairly close, but not quite equal to, 0.1. This is called storage error.
This is typical. Most real numbers cannot be stored exactly as floats or even as
doubles. Using a double will improve accuracy since a double stores 53 bits for the
mantissa, but there will still be some inevitable storage error.
Storage Error

You might also like