Computer Organization

& Architecture:
21CSC202J
 Unit 2 : HALF ADDER
(Computer Organisation by Carl Hamacher)
What is a Half Adder?
A combinational logic circuit which is designed to add two
binary digits is known as half adder. The half adder
provides the output along with a carry value (if any). The
half adder circuit is designed by connecting an EX-OR gate
and one AND gate. It has two input terminals and two
output terminals for sum and carry.
HALF ADDER
In case of half adder, the output of the EX-OR
gate is the sum of two bits while the output of
the AND gate is the carry. However, the carry
obtained is one addition will not be forwarded in
the next addition, so it is called half adder.
The output equations of the half adder are −
Sum,S=A⊕B
Carry,C=A.B
FULL ADDER

What is a Full Adder?

A combinational circuit which is designed to add three
binary digits and produce two outputs is known as full
adder. The full adder circuit adds three binary digits,
where two are the inputs and one is the carry
forwarded from the previous addition.
The circuit of the full adder consists of two EX-OR gates,
two AND gates and one OR gate, which are connected
together as shown in the full adder circuit.
The output equations of the full adder are −
Sum,S=A⊕B⊕Cin
Carry,C=AB+BCin+ACin
Computer Organization
& Architecture:
21CSC202J
 Unit 2 : Arithmetic
Chapter 6
(Computer Organisation by Carl Hamacher)
Addition and Subtraction of Signed Numbers
Addition/subtraction of signed numbers

xi yi Carry-in c i Sum s i Carry-out c i +1

At the ith stage:
0 0 0 0 0 Input:
0 0 1 1 0 ci is the carry-in
0 1 0 1 0
0 1 1 0 1
Output:
1 0 0 1 0 si is the sum
1 0 1 0 1 ci+1 carry-out to (i+1)st
1 1 0 0 1
1 1 1 1 1 state

si = xi yi ci + xi yi ci + xi yi ci + xi yi ci = x i  yi  c i
c i +1 = yi c i + x i ci + x i y i

E xample:

X 7 0 1 1 1 Carry-out xi Carry-in
+ Y = +6 = + 00 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 yi
c i+1 ci
Z 13 1 1 0 1 si

Legend for stage i

Addition logic for a single stage
Sum Carry
yi
c
i
xi
xi
yi si c
c i +1
i
ci
x
xi yi i
yi

ci + 1 Full adder ci
(FA)

s
i

Full Adder (FA): Symbol for the complete circuit for a single stage of addition.
n-bit adder
•Cascade n full adder (FA) blocks to form a n-bit adder.
•Carries propagate or ripple through this cascade, n-bit ripple carry adder.

x y x y x y
n- 1 n- 1 1 1 0 0

c c
n- 1 1
c FA FA FA c
n 0

s s s
n- 1 1 0
Most significant bit Least significant bit
(MSB) position (LSB) position

Carry-in c0 into the LSB position provides a convenient way to

perform subtraction.
K n-bit adder
K n-bit numbers can be added by cascading k n-bit adders.

xkn - 1 ykn - 1 x2n - 1 y2n - 1 xn y n xn - 1 y n - 1 x 0 y 0

cn
n-bit n-bit n-bit c
c kn 0
adder adder adder

s s( s s s s
kn - 1 k - 1) n 2n - 1 n n- 1 0

Each n-bit adder forms a block, so this is cascading of blocks.

Carries ripple or propagate through blocks, Blocked Ripple Carry Adder
n-bit subtractor
•Recall X – Y is equivalent to adding 2’s complement of Y to X.
•2’s complement is equivalent to 1’s complement + 1.
•X – Y = X + Y + 1
•2’s complement of positive and negative numbers is computed similarly.

x y x y x y
n- 1 n- 1 1 1 0 0

c c
n- 1 1
c
n FA FA FA 1

s s s
n- 1 1 0

Most significant bit Least significant bit

(MSB) position (LSB) position
n-bit adder/subtractor (contd..)
y y y
n- 1 1 0
Add/Sub
control

x x x
n- 1 1 0

c n-bit adder
n c
0

s s s
n- 1 1 0

•Add/sub control = 0, addition.

•Add/sub control = 1, subtraction.
 Detecting overflows
 Overflows can only occur when the sign of the two operands
is the same.
 Overflow occurs if the sign of the result is different from the
sign of the operands.
 Recall that the MSB represents the sign.
 xn-1, yn-1, sn-1 represent the sign of operand x, operand y and result s
respectively.
 Circuit to detect overflow can be implemented by the
following logic expressions:

Overflow = xn−1 yn−1sn−1 + xn−1 yn−1sn−1

Overflow = cn  cn−1
Computing the add time
x0 y0
Consider 0th stage:
•c1 is available after 2 gate delays.
•s1 is available after 1 gate delay.
c1 FA c0

s0

Sum Carry
yi
c
i
xi
xi
yi si c
c i +1
i
ci
x
i
yi
Computing the add time (contd..)
Cascade of 4 Full Adders, or a 4-bit adder

x0 y0 x0 y0 x0 y0 x0 y0

FA FA FA FA c0
c4 c3 c2 c1

s3 s2 s1 s0

•s0 available after 1 gate delays, c1 available after 2 gate delays.

•s1 available after 3 gate delays, c2 available after 4 gate delays.
•s2 available after 5 gate delays, c3 available after 6 gate delays.
•s3 available after 7 gate delays, c4 available after 8 gate delays.

For an n-bit adder, sn-1 is available after 2n-1 gate delays

cn is available after 2n gate delays.
Computer Organization
& Architecture:
21CSC202J
Design of Fast Adders
Fast addition
Recall the equations:

si = xi  yi  ci
ci +1 = xi yi + xi ci + yi ci
Second equation can be written as:

ci +1 = xi yi + ( xi + yi )ci
We can write:
ci +1 = Gi + Pi ci
where Gi = xi yi and Pi = xi + yi

•Gi is called generate function and Pi is called propagate function

•Gi and Pi are computed only from xi and yi and not ci, thus they can
be computed in one gate delay after X and Y are applied to the
inputs of an n-bit adder.
Carry lookahead
ci +1 = Gi + Pi ci
ci = Gi −1 + Pi −1ci −1
 ci+1 = Gi + Pi (Gi −1 + Pi −1ci −1 )
continuing
 ci+1 = Gi + Pi (Gi −1 + Pi −1 (Gi − 2 + Pi− 2 ci −2 ))
until
ci+1 = Gi + PiGi −1 + Pi Pi−1 Gi −2 + .. + Pi Pi −1 ..P1G0 + Pi Pi −1 ...P0 c 0
•All carries can be obtained 3 gate delays after X, Y and c0 are applied.
-One gate delay for Pi and Gi
-Two gate delays in the AND-OR circuit for ci+1
•All sums can be obtained 1 gate delay after the carries are computed.
•Independent of n, n-bit addition requires only 4 gate delays.
•This is called Carry Lookahead adder.
Carry-lookahead adder
x y x y x y x y
3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0

c4
c
3
c
2
c
1
. c
4-bit
carry-lookahead
B cell B cell B cell B cell 0

adder
s s s s
3 2 1 0

G3 P3 G2 P2 G P G P
1 1 0 0

Carry-lookahead logic
xi yi

. .
. c
i

B-cell for a single stage

B cell

G i
P i
si
Carry lookahead adder (contd..)

 Performing n-bit addition in 4 gate delays independent of n is good

only theoretically because of fan-in constraints.

ci+1 = Gi + PiGi −1 + Pi Pi−1 Gi −2 + .. + Pi Pi −1 ..P1G0 + Pi Pi −1 ...P0 c0

 Last AND gate and OR gate require a fan-in of (n+1) for a n-bit
adder.
 For a 4-bit adder (n=4) fan-in of 5 is required.
 Practical limit for most gates.

 In order to add operands longer than 4 bits, we can cascade 4-bit

Carry-Lookahead adders. Cascade of Carry-Lookahead adders is
called Blocked Carry-Lookahead adder.
4-bit carry-lookahead Adder
Blocked Carry-Lookahead adder
Carry-out from a 4-bit block can be given as:

c4 = G3 + P3G2 + P3P2G1 + P3P2 P1G0 + P3P2 P1P0c0

Rewrite this as:

P0I = P3 P2 P1 P0
G0I = G3 + P3 G2 + P3 P2 G1 + P3 P2 P1G0
Subscript I denotes the blocked carry lookahead and identifies the block.

Cascade 4 4-bit adders, c16 can be expressed as:

c16 = G3I + P3I G2I + P3I P2I G1I + P3I P2I P10 G0I + P3I P2I P10 P00 c0
Blocked Carry-Lookahead adder
x15-12 y15-12 x11-8 y11-8 x7-4 y7-4 x3-0 y3-0

c 16 4-bit adder
c 12
4-bit adder
c8
4-bit adder
c4
4-bit adder . c0

s15-12 s11-8 s7-4 s3-0

G3I P3I G2 I P 2I G 1I P 1I G 0I P0 I

Carry-lookahead logic

After xi, yi and c0 are applied as inputs:

- Gi and Pi for each stage are available after 1 gate delay.
- PI is available after 2 and GI after 3 gate delays.
- All carries are available after 5 gate delays.
- c16 is available after 5 gate delays.
- s15 which depends on c12 is available after 8 (5+3)gate delays
(Recall that for a 4-bit carry lookahead adder, the last sum bit is
available 3 gate delays after all inputs are available)
Multiplication of positive numbers
Multiplication of unsigned numbers

Product of 2 n-bit numbers is at most a 2n-bit number.

Unsigned multiplication can be viewed as addition of shifted
versions of the multiplicand.
Multiplication of unsigned numbers (contd..)

 We added the partial products at end.

 Alternative would be to add the partial products at each stage.

 Rules to implement multiplication are:

 If the ith bit of the multiplier is 1, shift the multiplicand and add the
shifted multiplicand to the current value of the partial product.
 Hand over the partial product to the next stage
 Value of the partial product at the start stage is 0.
Multiplication of unsigned numbers

Typical multiplication cell

Bit of incoming partial product (PPi)

jth multiplicand bit

ith multiplier bit ith multiplier bit

carry out FA carry in

Bit of outgoing partial product (PP(i+1))

Combinatorial array multiplier
Combinatorial array multiplier
Multiplicand

0 m3 0 m2 0 m1 0 m0
(PP0)
q0
0
PP1 p0
q1
0
PP2 p1
q2
0
PP3 p2
q3
0
,
p7 p6 p5 p4 p3

Product is: p7,p6,..p0

Multiplicand is shifted by displacing it through an array of adders.

Combinatorial array multiplier (contd..)

⚫ Combinatorial array multipliers are:

⚫ Extremely inefficient.
⚫ Have a high gate count for multiplying numbers of practical size such as
32-bit or 64-bit numbers.
⚫ Perform only one function, namely, unsigned integer product.

⚫ Improve gate efficiency by using a mixture of

combinatorial array techniques and
sequential techniques requiring less
combinational logic.
Sequential multiplication
⚫ Recall the rule for generating partial products:
⚫ If the ith bit of the multiplier is 1, add the appropriately shifted
multiplicand to the current partial product.
⚫ Multiplicand has been shifted left when added to the partial product.

⚫ However, adding a left-shifted multiplicand to

an unshifted partial product is equivalent to
adding an unshifted multiplicand to a right-
shifted partial product.
Sequential Circuit
Multiplier
Register A (initially 0)

Shift right

C a a q q
n - 1 0 n - 1 0

Multiplier Q
Add/Noadd
control

n-bit
Adder Control Sequencer
MUX
(Shift and add
control logic)
0 0

m m
n - 1 0

Multiplicand M
Sequential multiplication (contd..)
M
1 1 0 1
Initial configuration
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
C A Q
0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 Add
Shift First cycle
0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1

1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 Add
Shift Second cycle
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0

0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 No add
Shift Third cycle
0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1

1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 Add
Shift Fourth cycle
0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1

Product
Computer Organization
& Architecture:
21CSC202J
 Unit 2 : Arithmetic
Chapter 6
(Computer Organisation by Carl Hamacher)
Multiplication of positive numbers
Multiplication of unsigned numbers

Product of 2 n-bit numbers is at most a 2n-bit number.

Unsigned multiplication can be viewed as addition of shifted
versions of the multiplicand.
Multiplication of unsigned numbers (contd..)

 We added the partial products at end.

 Alternative would be to add the partial products at each stage.

 Rules to implement multiplication are:

 If the ith bit of the multiplier is 1, shift the multiplicand and add the
shifted multiplicand to the current value of the partial product.
 Hand over the partial product to the next stage
 Value of the partial product at the start stage is 0.
Multiplication of unsigned numbers

Typical multiplication cell

Bit of incoming partial product (PPi)

jth multiplicand bit

ith multiplier bit ith multiplier bit

carry out FA carry in

Bit of outgoing partial product (PP(i+1))

Combinatorial array multiplier
Combinatorial array multiplier
Multiplicand

0 m3 0 m2 0 m1 0 m0
(PP0)
q0
0
PP1 p0
q1
0
PP2 p1
q2
0
PP3 p2
q3
0
,
p7 p6 p5 p4 p3

Product is: p7,p6,..p0

Multiplicand is shifted by displacing it through an array of adders.

Combinatorial array multiplier (contd..)

⚫ Combinatorial array multipliers are:

⚫ Extremely inefficient.
⚫ Have a high gate count for multiplying numbers of practical size such as
32-bit or 64-bit numbers.
⚫ Perform only one function, namely, unsigned integer product.

⚫ Improve gate efficiency by using a mixture of

combinatorial array techniques and
sequential techniques requiring less
combinational logic.
Sequential multiplication
⚫ Recall the rule for generating partial products:
⚫ If the ith bit of the multiplier is 1, add the appropriately shifted
multiplicand to the current partial product.
⚫ Multiplicand has been shifted left when added to the partial product.

⚫ However, adding a left-shifted multiplicand to

an unshifted partial product is equivalent to
adding an unshifted multiplicand to a right-
shifted partial product.
Sequential Circuit
Multiplier
Register A (initially 0)

Shift right

C a a q q
n - 1 0 n - 1 0

Multiplier Q
Add/Noadd
control

n-bit
Adder
MUX Control
sequencer

0 0

m m
n - 1 0

Multiplicand M
Sequential multiplication (contd..)
M
1 1 0 1
Initial configuration
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
C A Q
0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 Add
Shift First cycle
0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1

1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 Add
Shift Second cycle
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0

0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 No add
Shift Third cycle
0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1

1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 Add
Shift Fourth cycle
0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1

Product
EXAMPLE
Computer Organization
& Architecture:
21CSC202J
 Unit 2 : Arithmetic
Chapter 6
(Computer Organisation by Carl Hamacher)
Signed Multiplication
Signed Multiplication
⚫ Considering 2’s-complement signed operands, what will happen to
(-13)(+11) if following the same method of unsigned multiplication?

1 0 0 1 1 ( - 13)
0 1 0 1 1 ( + 11)

1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1
Sign extension is
shown in blue 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 1 1 0 0 1 1

0 0 0 0 0 0

1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 ( - 143 )

Sign extension of negative multiplicand.

Signed Multiplication
⚫ For a negative multiplier, a straightforward
solution is to form the 2’s-complement of both
the multiplier and the multiplicand and
proceed as in the case of a positive multiplier.
⚫ This is possible because complementation of
both operands does not change the value or
the sign of the product.
⚫ A technique that works equally well for both
negative and positive multipliers – Booth
algorithm.
Booth Algorithm

0 1 1 0 1 ( + 13) 0 1 1 0 1
X1 1 0 1 0 (- 6 ) 0 - 1 +1 - 1 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1
0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
1 1 1 0 0 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 ( - 78 )

Booth multiplication with a negative multiplier.

Booth Algorithm

Multiplier
Version of multiplicand
selected by biti
Bit i Bit i -1

0 0 0 XM
0 1 + 1 XM
1 0 − 1 XM
1 1 0 XM

Booth multiplier recoding table.

BOOTH ALGORITHM
For example: -6
Multiplier value of +6 is 00110
-6 (to find 2’s complement):
1’s complement of 00110 is 11001 and add 1 to
this value, so
Multiplier value of -6 is 11010
Booth Multiplier (recoded
multiplier)
To find booth multiplier, add zero at the end of
multiplier(add zero in LSB)
i i-1
1 1 0 1 0 0
0 -1 +1 -1 0 ➔ booth multiplier
Booth algorithm
After finding booths recoding multiplier , multiply
multiplicand dwith booths recoding multiplier value.
When multiply multiplicand with booths recoding multiplier
value,
➔if its 0 in multiplier means then all its sub product will be
0.
➔ if its +1 in multiplier means then original multiplicand
value will be in its sub product.
➔ if its -1 in multiplier means then its sub product will be
2’s complement of its multiplicand.
Booth Algorithm

0 1 1 0 1 ( + 13) 0 1 1 0 1
X1 1 0 1 0 (- 6 ) 0 - 1 +1 - 1 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1
0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
1 1 1 0 0 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 ( - 78 )

Booth multiplication with a negative multiplier.

EXAMPLE
Computer Organization
& Architecture:
21CSC202J
 Unit 2 : Arithmetic
Chapter 6
(Computer Organisation by Carl Hamacher)
Fast Multiplication
FAST MULTIPLICATION
TWO METHODS
1.BIT PAIR RECODING
2.CARRY SAVE ADDITION
Bit-Pair Recoding of
Multipliers

Multiplier bit-pair Multiplier bit on the right Multiplicand

selected at position i
i+1 i i−1

0 0 0 0 X M
0 0 1 + 1 X M
0 1 0 + 1 X M
0 1 1 + 2 X M
1 0 0 −2 X M
1 0 1 −1 X M
1 1 0 −1 X M
1 1 1 0 X M

(b) Table of multiplicand selection decisions

Bit-Pair Recoding of Multipliers
0 1 1 0 1
0 - 1 +1 - 1 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1
0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
1 1 1 0 0 1 1
0 1 1 0 1 ( + 13) 0 0 0 0 0 0
´ 1 1 0 1 0 (- 6 ) 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 ( - 78

0 1 1 0 1
0 -1 -2
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0
1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0

Figure 6.15. Multiplication requiring only n/2 summands.

Carry-Save Addition of Summands
⚫ CSA speeds up the addition process.

10
P7 P6 P5 P4 P3 P2 P1 P0
 Carry-Save Addition of
Summands(Cont.,)

P7 P6 P5 P4 P3 P2 P1 P0
Carry-Save Addition of
Summands(Cont.,)
⚫ Consider the addition of many summands,
we can:
➢ Group the summands in threes and perform carry-save addition on
each of these groups in parallel to generate a set of S and C vectors
in one full-adder delay
➢ Group all of the S and C vectors into threes, and perform carry-save
addition on them, generating a further set of S and C vectors in one
more full-adder delay
➢ Continue with this process until there are only two vectors remaining
➢ They can be added in a RCA or CLA to produce the desired product
CARRY SAVE ADDITION OF
SUMMANDS
EXAMPLE: 110110*101101
Computer Organization
& Architecture:
21CSC202J
 Unit 2 : Arithmetic
Chapter 6
(Computer Organisation by Carl Hamacher)
Integer Division
Manual Division
21 10101
13 274 1101 100010010
26 1101
14 10000
13 1101
1 1110
1101
1

Longhand division examples.

Longhand Division Steps
⚫ Position the divisor appropriately with respect to
the dividend and performs a subtraction.
⚫ If the remainder is zero or positive, a quotient bit
of 1 is determined, the remainder is extended by
another bit of the dividend, the divisor is
repositioned, and another subtraction is
performed.
⚫ If the remainder is negative, a quotient bit of 0 is
determined, the dividend is restored by adding
back the divisor, and the divisor is repositioned
for another subtraction.
Circuit Arrangement
Shift left

an an-1 a0 qn-1 q0
Dividend Q
A Quotient
Setting

N+1 bit Add/Subtract

adder
Control
Sequencer

0 mn-1 m0

Divisor M

Figure 6.21. Circuit arrangement for binary division.

Restoring Division
⚫ Shift A and Q left one binary position
⚫ Subtract M from A, and place the answer
back in A
⚫ If the sign of A is 1, set q0 to 0 and add M
back to A (restore A); otherwise, set q0 to 1
⚫ Repeat these steps n times
Examples Initially 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 1
Shift 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Subtract 1 1 1 0 1 First cycle
Set q0 1 1 1 1 0
Restore 1 1
0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
1 0 Shift 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
1 1 10 0 0 Subtract 1 1 1 0 1
1 1 Set q0 1 1 1 1 1 Second cycle
Restore 1 1
1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Shift 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Subtract 1 1 1 0 1
Set q0 0 0 0 0 1 Third cycle

Shift 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Subtract 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1
Set q0 1 1 1 1 1 Fourth cycle
Restore 1 1
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0

Remainder Quotient

Figure 6.22. A restoring-division example.

EXAMPLE:RESTORING DIVISION
Nonrestoring Division
⚫ Avoid the need for restoring A after an unsuccessful subtraction.
⚫ Any idea?
⚫ Step 1: (Repeat n times)
➢ If the sign of A is 0, shift A and Q left one bit position and subtract M
from A; otherwise, shift A and Q left and add M to A.
➢ Now, if the sign of A is 0, set q0 to 1; otherwise, set q0 to 0.
⚫ Step2: At the end of the last cycle, If the sign of A is 1, add M to A
 Examples Initially 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 1
Shift 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 First cycle
Subtract 1 1 1 0 1
Set q 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

Shift 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Add 0 0 0 1 1 Second cycle

Set q 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
0

Shift 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 Add 0 0 0 1 1 Third cycle
Restore
0 0 0 1 1 Set q 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
remainder 0
Add 0 0 0 1 0
Remainder Shift 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Subtract 1 1 1 0 1 Fourth cycle
Set q 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0
0

Quotient
A nonrestoring-division example.
EXAMPLE: NON RESTORING
DIVISION
Computer Organization
& Architecture:
21CSC202J
 Unit 2 : Arithmetic
Chapter 6
(Computer Organisation by Carl Hamacher)
Floating-Point Numbers
and
Operations
Fractions
If b is a binary vector, then we have seen that it can be interpreted as
an unsigned integer by:

V(b) = b31.231 + b30.230 + bn-3.229 + .... + b1.21 + b0.20

This vector has an implicit binary point to its immediate right:

b31b30b29....................b1b0. implicit binary point

Suppose if the binary vector is interpreted with the implicit binary point is
just left of the sign bit:
implicit binary point .b31b30b29....................b1b0

The value of b is then given by:

V(b) = b31.2-1 + b30.2-2 + b29.2-3 + .... + b1.2-31 + b0.2-32

Range of fractions
The value of the unsigned binary fraction is:
V(b) = b31.2-1 + b30.2-2 + b29.2-3 + .... + b1.2-31 + b0.2-32

The range of the numbers represented in this format is:

0  V (b)  1 − 2−32  0.9999999998

In general for a n-bit binary fraction (a number with an assumed binary

point at the immediate left of the vector), then the range of values is:

0  V (b)  1 − 2− n
Scientific notation
•Previous representations have a fixed point. Either the point is to the
immediate right or it is to the immediate left. This is called Fixed point
representation.
•Fixed point representation suffers from a drawback that the representation
can only represent a finite range (and quite small) range of numbers.

A more convenient representation is the scientific representation, where

the numbers are represented in the form:

x = m1 .m2 m3 m4  b e
Components of these numbers are:

Mantissa (m), implied base (b), and exponent (e)

Significant digits
A number such as the following is said to have 7 significant digits

x = 0.m1 m2 m3 m4 m5 m6 m7  b e

Fractions in the range 0.0 to 0.9999999 need about 24 bits of precision

(in binary). For example the binary fraction with 24 1’s:
111111111111111111111111 = 0.9999999404

Not every real number between 0 and 0.9999999404 can be represented

by a 24-bit fractional number.
The smallest non-zero number that can be represented is:

000000000000000000000001 = 5.96046 x 10-8

Every other non-zero number is constructed in increments of this value.

Sign and exponent digits
•In a 32-bit number, suppose we allocate 24 bits to represent a fractional
mantissa.
•Assume that the mantissa is represented in sign and magnitude format,
and we have allocated one bit to represent the sign.
•We allocate 7 bits to represent the exponent, and assume that the
exponent is represented as a 2’s complement integer.
•There are no bits allocated to represent the base, we assume that the
base is implied for now, that is the base is 2.
•Since a 7-bit 2’s complement number can represent values in the range
-64 to 63, the range of numbers that can be represented is:

0.0000001 x 2-64 < = | x | <= 0.9999999 x 263

•In decimal representation this range is:

0.5421 x 10-20 < = | x | <= 9.2237 x 1018

A sample representation

1 7 24

Sign Exponent Fractional mantissa

bit
•24-bit mantissa with an implied binary point to the immediate left
•7-bit exponent in 2’s complement form, and implied base is 2.
Normalization
Consider the number: x = 0.0004056781 x 1012

If the number is to be represented using only 7 significant mantissa digits,

the representation ignoring rounding is: x = 0.0004056 x 1012

If the number is shifted so that as many significant digits are brought into
7 available slots:
x = 0.4056781 x 109 = 0.0004056 x 1012

Exponent of x was decreased by 1 for every left shift of x.

A number which is brought into a form so that all of the available mantissa
digits are optimally used (this is different from all occupied which may
not hold), is called a normalized number.

Same methodology holds in the case of binary mantissas

0001101000(10110) x 28 = 1101000101(10) x 25
Normalization (contd..)
•A floating point number is in normalized form if the most significant
1 in the mantissa is in the most significant bit of the mantissa.
•All normalized floating point numbers in this system will be of the form:

0.1xxxxx.......xx

Range of numbers representable in this system, if every number must be

normalized is:
0.5 x 2-64 <= | x | < 1 x 263
Normalization, overflow and
underflow
The procedure for normalizing a floating point number is:
Do (until MSB of mantissa = = 1)
Shift the mantissa left (or right)
Decrement (increment) the exponent by 1
end do

Applying the normalization procedure to: .000111001110....0010 x 2-62

gives: .111001110........ x 2-65

But we cannot represent an exponent of –65, in trying to normalize the

number we have underflowed our representation.
Applying the normalization procedure to: 1.00111000............x 263
gives: 0.100111..............x 264

This overflows the representation.

Changing the implied base
So far we have assumed an implied base of 2, that is our floating point
numbers are of the form:
x = m 2e

If we choose an implied base of 16, then:

x = m 16e

Then:
y = (m.16) .16e-1 (m.24) .16e-1 = m . 16e = x

•Thus, every four left shifts of a binary mantissa results in a decrease of 1

in a base 16 exponent.
•Normalization in this case means shifting the mantissa until there is a 1 in
the first four bits of the mantissa.
Excess notation
•Rather than representing an exponent in 2’s complement form, it turns out to
be more beneficial to represent the exponent in excess notation.
•If 7 bits are allocated to the exponent, exponents can be represented in the
range of -64 to +63, that is:
-64 <= e <= 63
Exponent can also be represented using the following coding called as
excess-64:
E’ = Etrue + 64
In general, excess-p coding is represented as:
E’ = Etrue + p

True exponent of -64 is represented as 0

0 is represented as 64
63 is represented as 127

This enables efficient comparison of the relative sizes of two floating point
numbers.
IEEE notation
IEEE Floating Point notation is the standard representation in use. There are
two representations:
- Single precision.
- Double precision.
Both have an implied base of 2.
Single precision:
- 32 bits (23-bit mantissa, 8-bit exponent in excess-127 representation)
Double precision:
- 64 bits (52-bit mantissa, 11-bit exponent in excess-1023 representation)
Fractional mantissa, with an implied binary point at immediate left.

Sign Exponent Mantissa

1 8 or 11 23 or 52
Peculiarities of IEEE notation
•Floating point numbers have to be represented in a normalized form to
maximize the use of available mantissa digits.
•In a base-2 representation, this implies that the MSB of the mantissa is
always equal to 1.
•If every number is normalized, then the MSB of the mantissa is always 1.
We can do away without storing the MSB.
•IEEE notation assumes that all numbers are normalized so that the MSB
of the mantissa is a 1 and does not store this bit.
•So the real MSB of a number in the IEEE notation is either a 0 or a 1.
•The values of the numbers represented in the IEEE single precision
notation are of the form:
(+,-) 1.M x 2(E - 127)
•The hidden 1 forms the integer part of the mantissa.
•Note that excess-127 and excess-1023 (not excess-128 or excess-1024)
are used to represent the exponent.
Exponent field
In the IEEE representation, the exponent is in excess-127 (excess-1023)
notation.
The actual exponents represented are:

-126 <= E <= 127 and -1022 <= E <= 1023

not
-127 <= E <= 128 and -1023 <= E <= 1024

This is because the IEEE uses the exponents -127 and 128 (and -1023 and
1024), that is the actual values 0 and 255 to represent special conditions:
- Exact zero
- Infinity
Floating point arithmetic
Addition:
3.1415 x 108 + 1.19 x 106 = 3.1415 x 108 + 0.0119 x 108 = 3.1534 x 108
Multiplication:
3.1415 x 108 x 1.19 x 106 = (3.1415 x 1.19 ) x 10(8+6)

Division:
3.1415 x 108 / 1.19 x 106 = (3.1415 / 1.19 ) x 10(8-6)

Biased exponent problem:

If a true exponent e is represented in excess-p notation, that is as e+p.
Then consider what happens under multiplication:

a. 10(x + p) * b. 10(y + p) = (a.b). 10(x + p + y +p) = (a.b). 10(x +y + 2p)

Representing the result in excess-p notation implies that the exponent

should be x+y+p. Instead it is x+y+2p.
Biases should be handled in floating point arithmetic.
Floating point arithmetic:
ADD/SUB rule
⚫ Choose the number with the smaller
exponent.
⚫ Shift its mantissa right until the exponents of
both the numbers are equal.
⚫ Add or subtract the mantissas.
⚫ Determine the sign of the result.
⚫ Normalize the result if necessary and
truncate/round to the number of mantissa
bits.
Note: This does not consider the possibility of overflow/underflow.
Floating point arithmetic: MUL
rule
⚫ Add the exponents.
⚫ Subtract the bias.
⚫ Multiply the mantissas and determine the
sign of the result.
⚫ Normalize the result (if necessary).
⚫ Truncate/round the mantissa of the result.
Floating point arithmetic: DIV
rule
⚫ Subtract the exponents
⚫ Add the bias.
⚫ Divide the mantissas and determine the sign
of the result.
⚫ Normalize the result if necessary.
⚫ Truncate/round the mantissa of the result.

Note: Multiplication and division does not require alignment of the

mantissas the way addition and subtraction does.
Guard bits
While adding two floating point numbers with 24-bit mantissas, we shift
the mantissa of the number with the smaller exponent to the right until
the two exponents are equalized.
This implies that mantissa bits may be lost during the right shift (that is,
bits of precision may be shifted out of the mantissa being shifted).
To prevent this, floating point operations are implemented by keeping
guard bits, that is, extra bits of precision at the least significant end
of the mantissa.
The arithmetic on the mantissas is performed with these extra bits of
precision.
After an arithmetic operation, the guarded mantissas are:
- Normalized (if necessary)
- Converted back by a process called truncation/rounding to a 24-bit
mantissa.
Truncation/rounding
⚫ Straight chopping:
⚫ The guard bits (excess bits of precision) are dropped.

⚫ Von Neumann rounding:

⚫ If the guard bits are all 0, they are dropped.
⚫ However, if any bit of the guard bit is a 1, then the LSB of the retained bit
is set to 1.

⚫ Rounding:
⚫ If there is a 1 in the MSB of the guard bit then a 1 is added to the LSB of
the retained bits.
Rounding
⚫ Rounding is evidently the most accurate
truncation method.
⚫ However,
⚫ Rounding requires an addition operation.
⚫ Rounding may require a renormalization, if the addition operation de-
normalizes the truncated number.

0.111111100000 rounds to 0.111111 + 0.000001

=1.000000 which must be renormalized to 0.100000

⚫ IEEE uses the rounding method.