floating point

A method for storing and calculating numbers in which the decimal points do not line up as in fixed point numbers. The significant digits are stored as a unit called the "mantissa," and the location of the radix point (decimal point in base 10) is stored in a separate unit called the "exponent." Floating point methods are used for calculating a large range of numbers quickly.

Floating point operations can be implemented in hardware (math coprocessor), or they can be done in software. In large systems, they can also be performed in a separate floating point processor that is connected to the main processor via a channel. See numbers.

  FLOATING POINT EXAMPLES

  Mantissa  Exponent  Value
  71        0           71
  71        1          710
  71        2         7100
  71        -1           7.1

How Numbers Are Stored

Floating point is one of four primary ways numbers are stored in the computer.