ABSTRACT
When computations require fractional calculations, there are two common data representation options, ¢xed point and ²oating point. Fixed point calculations rely on the native integer representations and calculating units, but assume there are a ¢xed number of decimal places maintained during arithmetic operations. An analogy would be doing monetary calculations in pennies, rather than in dollars, with the decimal point assumed to be present. e addition and subtraction algorithms are the same for ¢xed point as for integers so no new hardware is needed. However, the implied decimal point creates some diªculties when multiplying or dividing, requiring additional steps to round results.
