IBM and float decimal

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#354

From: glen herrmannsfeldt
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2005 07:12

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Ray Mullins <mrm@lerctr.org> wrote:

> I can't vote, but I've got a question...

> I've heard rumors about a new IBM numeric format - sort of like "decimal
> floating point" - combining the best of float + PD.  It's supposedly in the
> z9 hardware (or will be).  How does this play in this whole discussion?

There has been discussion of the proposed float decimal standard
for some time, and I believe some papers (maybe electronic only)
written about it.  It is pretty close in efficiency for the available
range to float binary, where the extra range of a base 10 exponent
makes up for the reduction in the fraction due to decimal normalization.
(The fraction is stored three digits per 10 bits, with the remaining
digits in normal BCD form, and a base 10 exponent.)

I have not heard any stories of it appearing on any machine, though.

-- glen

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From: glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.asm370
Subject: IBM and float decimal
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2005 00:12:47 -0700
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