Difference between revisions of "One's complement"
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Negative numbers are formed by taking the positive number, and complementing it (bit-by-bit inversion). So. for example, using a 4-bit [[word]], 1 is '0001'; to get -1, invert, which gives '1110'. | Negative numbers are formed by taking the positive number, and complementing it (bit-by-bit inversion). So. for example, using a 4-bit [[word]], 1 is '0001'; to get -1, invert, which gives '1110'. | ||
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| + | It has now been universally replaced by the [[two's complement]] system. | ||
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| + | ==External links== | ||
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| + | * [https://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/univac/minuszero.html Minus Zero] - amusing detailed description of the difference between the two systems | ||
[[Category: Theory]] | [[Category: Theory]] | ||
Latest revision as of 14:43, 2 June 2025
One's complement is the original system for representing integers (both positive and negative) in binary; if the high bit (the 'sign' bit) is '1', the number is negative; if '0', the remaining bits encode either 0 (if all '0'), or a positive number. 0 has a second representation (sometimes called '-0'), with all bits (including the sign bit) set to '1'.
Negative numbers are formed by taking the positive number, and complementing it (bit-by-bit inversion). So. for example, using a 4-bit word, 1 is '0001'; to get -1, invert, which gives '1110'.
It has now been universally replaced by the two's complement system.
External links
- Minus Zero - amusing detailed description of the difference between the two systems
