| Power of 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | . | -1 | -2 | -3 | -4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | . | 0.5 | 0.25 | 0.125 | 0.0625 | |
| Include? | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | . | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
(01111101) = 4 + 2 + 1 + 0.5 + 0.25 + 0.0625 = 7.8125
The binary addition algorithm works for eight-bit fixed point notation! In early computers and calculators this enabled the same electronic circuits to be used for integer arithmetic (both signed and unsigned) and for fixed point arithmetic. This looks very promising.
However, fixed point is not as useful as the floating point representation which has replaced it. Floating point will be discussed in the next chapter.
How many values can be represented using 8-bit fixed point representation?