Fixed-Point vs. Floating-Point
One important feature that distinguishes different DSP processors is whether their CPUs perform fixed-point or floating-point arithmetic. In a fixed-point processor, numbers are represented and manipulated in integer format. In a floating-point processor, in addition to integer arithmetic, floating-point arithmetic can be handled. This means that numbers are represented by the combination of a mantissa (or a fractional part) and an exponent part, and the CPU possesses the necessary hardware for manipulating both of these parts. As a result, in general, floating-point processors are more expensive and slower than fixed-point ones.
In a fixed-point processor, one needs to be concerned with the dynamic ...
Get Real-Time Digital Signal Processing now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
