Itanium® Architecture for Programmers: Understanding 64-Bit Processors and EPIC Principles

6.6. DECNUM: Converting an Integer to Decimal Format

The formatting of numeric data as strings of ASCII characters is a common and important issue. When we discussed number systems in Chapter 1, we did not dwell on detailed methods for converting numbers from one radix to another. In this section, we develop one method for formatting unsigned decimal integers that illustrates several instructions and techniques presented in this chapter.

If we start with a value such as FE₁₆, how might we systematically convert this to 254₁₀? If we divide the value by 10, we get a quotient of 25 and a remainder of 4. If we divide that first quotient by 10, we get a second quotient of 2 and a second remainder of 5. We can repeat this process until we get a quotient ...