Higher radix floating point representations

Abstract

An examination is made of the feasibility of higher-radix floating-point representations and, in particular, decimal-based representations. Traditional analyses of such representations have assumed the format of a floating-point datum to be roughly identical to that of traditional binary floating-point encodings such as the IEEE P754 task group standard representations. The authors relax this restriction and propose a method of encoding higher-radix floating-point data with range, precision, and storage requirements comparable to those exhibited by traditional binary representations. The results of other authors are extended to accommodate the proposed representation. A decimal alternative to traditional binary representations is proposed, and the behavior of such a system is contrasted with that of a comparable binary system.<>