B
Computer Arithmetic
In the chapters of this book, I have deliberately kept discussion of binary arithmetic to a minimum. However, it is important overall, and fundamental to understanding how some operators work, so I’m including a summary of the subject in this appendix. If you feel confident about your math knowledge, this is all old hat to you and you need read no farther. If you find the math parts tough, then this appendix should show you how easy it really is.
BINARY NUMBERS
First let’s consider what you mean when you write a common everyday number such as 321 or 747. Put more precisely you mean
321 is:
3 × (10 × 10) + 2 × (10) + 1
and 747 is:
7 × (10 × 10) + 4 × (10) + 7
Because it is built around powers of ten, you call this the decimal system (derived from the Latin decimalis, meaning of tithes, which was a tax of 10 percent — ah, those were the days . . .).
Representing numbers in this way is very handy for people with ten fingers and ten toes, or creatures with ten of any kind of appendage for that matter. However, your PC is quite unhandy in this context, being built mainly of switches that are either on or off. This is okay for counting up to two, but not spectacular at counting to ten. For this reason your computer represents numbers to base 2 rather than base 10. This is called the binary system of counting, analogous to the bicycle (two wheels), but nothing whatever to do with bibacity, which means an inclination to drink a lot. With the decimal system, to base ...
