37 lines
1.1 KiB
Markdown
37 lines
1.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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id: 3wsh
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title: Signed_magnitude_representation
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tags: [binary, binary-encoding]
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created: Wednesday, March 20, 2024
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---
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# Signed magnitude representation
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## Summary
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## Detail
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The concept behind SMR is similar to how we designate positive and negative
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integers in denary mathematics: we use a dedicated symbol (`-`) to signpost that
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the integer is negative. In the binary application the dedicated symbol is one
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of the binary digits that comprise the number.
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Typically `0` is used to indicate an unsigned (positive) integer and `1` to
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indicate a signed (negative) number. The rest of the bits are the magnitude (the
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actual numerical value).
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We can demonstrate with an 8-bit binary system, encoding `5`: `0000 0101`. Here
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the furthest bit (aka. the "most significant bit" (MSB)) at the $2^8$ position
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is `0`, designating that the number is unsigned. The signed equivalent is
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`1000 0101`, with the MSB being `1` designating the number as signed. When we
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are working with signed numbers, the MSB is known as the **signed bit**.
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### Advantages
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### Limitations
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## Applications
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## Related notes
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[[Signed_and_unsigned_numbers|signed_and_unsigned_numbers]]
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