Chapter 2

Data Representation in
Computer Systems
 Chapter 2 Objectives

• Understand the fundamentals of numerical data

representation and manipulation in digital
computers.
• Master the skill of converting between various
radix systems.
• Understand how errors can occur in computations
because of overflow and truncation.

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 Chapter 2 Objectives

• Understand the fundamental concepts of floating-

point representation.
• Gain familiarity with the most popular character
codes.
• Understand the concepts of error detecting and
correcting codes.

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 2.1 Introduction

• A bit is the most basic unit of information in a

computer.
– It is a state of “on” or “off” in a digital circuit.
– Sometimes these states are “high” or “low” voltage
instead of “on” or “off..”
• A byte is a group of eight bits.
– A byte is the smallest possible addressable unit of
computer storage.
– The term, “addressable,” means that a particular byte can
be retrieved according to its location in memory.

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 2.1 Introduction

• A word is a contiguous group of bytes.

– Words can be any number of bits or bytes.
– Word sizes of 16, 32, or 64 bits are most common.
– In a word-addressable system, a word is the smallest
addressable unit of storage.
• A group of four bits is called a nibble (or nybble).
– Bytes, therefore, consist of two nibbles: a “high-order
nibble,” and a “low-order” nibble.

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2.2 Positional Numbering Systems

• Bytes store numbers using the position of each bit

to represent a power of 2.
– The binary system is also called the base-2 system.
– Our decimal system is the base-10 system. It uses
powers of 10 for each position in a number.
– Any integer quantity can be represented exactly using
any base (or radix).

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2.2 Positional Numbering Systems

• The decimal number 947 in powers of 10 is:

9  10 2 + 4  10 1 + 7  10 0

• The decimal number 5836.47 in powers of 10 is:

5  10 3 + 8  10 2 + 3  10 1 + 6  10 0

+ 4  10 -1 + 7  10 -2

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2.2 Positional Numbering Systems

• The binary number 11001 in powers of 2 is:

124+123+022 +021+120

= 16 + 8 + 0 + 0 + 1 = 25

• When the radix of a number is something other

than 10, the base is denoted by a subscript.
– Sometimes, the subscript 10 is added for emphasis:
110012 = 2510

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Because binary numbers are the basis for all data

representation in digital computer systems, it is
important that you become proficient with this radix
system.
• Your knowledge of the binary numbering system
will enable you to understand the operation of all
computer components as well as the design of
instruction set architectures.

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• In an earlier slide, we said that every integer value

can be represented exactly using any radix
system.
• You can use either of two methods for radix
conversion: the subtraction method and the
division remainder method.
• The subtraction method is more intuitive, but
cumbersome. It does, however reinforce the ideas
behind radix mathematics.

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Suppose we want to convert

the decimal number 190 to
base 3.
– We know that 3 5 = 243 so
our result will be less than six
digits wide. The largest
power of 3 that we need is
therefore 3 4 = 81, and
81  2 = 162.
– Write down the 2 and subtract
162 from 190, giving 28.

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Converting 190 to base 3...

– The next power of 3 is
3 3 = 27. We’ll need one of
these, so we subtract 27 and
write down the numeral 1 in
our result.
– The next power of 3, 3 2 = 9, is
too large, but we have to
assign a placeholder of zero
and carry down the 1.

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Converting 190 to base 3...

– 3 1 = 3 is again too large, so
we assign a zero placeholder.
– The last power of 3, 3 0 = 1, is
our last choice, and it gives us
a difference of zero.
– Our result, reading from top
to bottom is:
19010 = 210013

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Another method of converting integers from

decimal to some other radix uses division.
• This method is mechanical and easy.
• It employs the idea that successive division by a
base is equivalent to successive subtraction by
powers of the base.
• Let’s use the division remainder method to again
convert 190 in decimal to base 3.

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Converting 190 to base 3...

– First we take the
number that we wish to
convert and divide it by
the radix in which we
want to express our
result.
– In this case, 3 divides
190 63 times, with a
remainder of 1.
– Record the quotient and 15
2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Converting 190 to base 3...

– 63 is evenly divisible
by 3.
– Our remainder is zero,
and the quotient is 21.

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Converting 190 to base 3...

– Continue in this way
until the quotient is zero.
– In the final calculation,
we note that 3 divides 2
zero times with a
remainder of 2.
– Our result, reading from
bottom to top is:
19010 = 210013
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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Fractional values can be approximated in all

base systems.
• Unlike integer values, fractions do not
necessarily have exact representations under all
radices.
• The quantity ½ is exactly representable in the
binary and decimal systems, but is not in the
ternary (base 3) numbering system.

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Fractional decimal values have nonzero digits to

the right of the decimal point.
• Fractional values of other radix systems have
nonzero digits to the right of the radix point.
• Numerals to the right of a radix point represent
negative powers of the radix:
0.47 = 4  10 -1 + 7  10 -2
10
0.11 = 1  2 -1 + 1  2 -2
2
= ½ + ¼
= 0.5 + 0.25 = 0.75

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• As with whole-number conversions, you can use

either of two methods: a subtraction method and
an easy multiplication method.
• The subtraction method for fractions is identical to
the subtraction method for whole numbers.
Instead of subtracting positive powers of the target
radix, we subtract negative powers of the radix.
• We always start with the largest value first, n -1,
where n is our radix, and work our way along
using larger negative exponents.
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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• The calculation to the

right is an example of
using the subtraction
method to convert the
decimal 0.8125 to binary.
– Our result, reading
from top to bottom
is:
0.812510 =
0.11012
– Of course, this
method works with
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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Using the multiplication

method to convert the
decimal 0.8125 to binary,
we multiply by the radix 2.
– The first product
carries into the units
place.

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Converting 0.8125 to binary . . .

– Ignoring the value in the
units place at each step,
continue multiplying each
fractional part by the
radix.

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Converting 0.8125 to binary . . .

– You are finished when the
product is zero, or until
you have reached the
desired number of binary
places.
– Our result, reading from
top to bottom is:
0.812510 = 0.11012
– This method also works
with any base. Just use the 24

target radix as the

2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• The binary numbering system is the most

important radix system for digital computers.
• However, it is difficult to read long strings of binary
numbers-- and even a modestly-sized decimal
number becomes a very long binary number.
– For example: 110101000110112 = 1359510
• For compactness and ease of reading, binary
values are usually expressed using the
hexadecimal, or base-16, numbering system.

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• The hexadecimal numbering system uses the

numerals 0 through 9 and the letters A through F.
– The decimal number 12 is C16.
– The decimal number 26 is 1A16.
• It is easy to convert between base 16 and base 2,
because 16 = 24.
• Thus, to convert from binary to hexadecimal, all
we need to do is group the binary digits into
groups of four.
A group of four binary digits is called a hextet

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2.3 Decimal to Binary Conversions

• Using groups of hextets, the binary number

110101000110112 (= 1359510) in hexadecimal is:

• Octal (base 8) values are derived from binary by

using groups of three bits (8 = 23):

Octal was very useful when computers used six-bit words.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• The conversions we have so far presented have

involved only positive numbers.
• To represent negative values, computer systems
allocate the high-order bit to indicate the sign of a
value.
– The high-order bit is the leftmost bit in a byte. It is also
called the most significant bit.
• The remaining bits contain the value of the
number.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• There are three ways in which signed binary

numbers may be expressed:
– Signed magnitude,
– One’s complement and
– Two’s complement.
• In an 8-bit word, signed magnitude
representation places the absolute value of
the number in the 7 bits to the right of the
sign bit.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• For example, in 8-bit signed magnitude,

positive 3 is:00000011
• Negative 3 is: 10000011
• Computers perform arithmetic operations on
signed magnitude numbers in much the same
way as humans carry out pencil and paper
arithmetic.
– Humans often ignore the signs of the operands
while performing a calculation, applying the
appropriate sign after the calculation is complete.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• Binary addition is as easy as it gets. You need

to know only four rules:
0 + 0 = 0 0 + 1 = 1
1 + 0 = 1 1 + 1 = 10
• The simplicity of this system makes it possible
for digital circuits to carry out arithmetic
operations.
– We will describe these circuits in Chapter 3.

Let’s see how the addition rules work with signed magnitude numbers . . .

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• Example:
– Using signed magnitude
binary arithmetic, find the
sum of 75 and 46.
• First, convert 75 and 46 to
binary, and arrange as a sum,
but separate the (positive)
sign bits from the magnitude
bits.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• Example:
– Using signed magnitude
binary arithmetic, find the
sum of 75 and 46.
• Just as in decimal arithmetic,
we find the sum starting with
the rightmost bit and work left.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• Example:
– Using signed magnitude
binary arithmetic, find the
sum of 75 and 46.
• In the second bit, we have a
carry, so we note it above the
third bit.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• Example:
– Using signed magnitude
binary arithmetic, find the
sum of 75 and 46.
• The third and fourth bits also
give us carries.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• Example:
– Using signed magnitude binary
arithmetic, find the sum of 75
and 46.
• Once we have worked our way
through all eight bits, we are
done.
In this example, we were careful to pick two values whose sum would fit into seven bits. If that is not

the case, we have a problem.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• Example:
– Using signed magnitude binary
arithmetic, find the sum of 107
and 46.
• We see that the carry from the
seventh bit overflows and is
discarded, giving us the
erroneous result: 107 + 46 = 25.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• The signs in signed

magnitude representation
work just like the signs in
pencil and paper arithmetic.
– Example: Using signed
magnitude binary arithmetic,
find the sum of - 46 and - 25.
• Because the signs are the same, all we do is add the numbers and supply the

negative sign when we are done.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• Mixed sign addition (or

subtraction) is done the
same way.
– Example: Using signed
magnitude binary arithmetic,
find the sum of 46 and - 25.

• The sign of the result gets the sign of the number that is larger.

– Note the “borrows” from the second and sixth bits.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• Signed magnitude representation is easy for

people to understand, but it requires
complicated computer hardware.
• Another disadvantage of signed magnitude is
that it allows two different representations for
zero: positive zero and negative zero.
• For these reasons (among others) computers
systems employ complement systems for
numeric value representation.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• In complement systems, negative values are

represented by some difference between a
number and its base.
• In diminished radix complement systems, a
negative value is given by the difference between
the absolute value of a number and one less than
its base.
• In the binary system, this gives us one’s
complement. It amounts to little more than flipping
the bits of a binary number.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• For example, in 8-bit one’s complement,

positive 3 is:00000011
• Negative 3 is: 11111100
• In one’s complement, as with signed
magnitude, negative values are indicated by a
1 in the high order bit.
• Complement systems are useful because they
eliminate the need for subtraction. The
difference of two values is found by adding the
minuend to the complement of the subtrahend.
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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• With one’s complement

addition, the carry bit is
“carried around” and added
to the sum.
– Example: Using one’s
complement binary arithmetic,
find the sum of 48 and - 19
We note that 19 in one’s complement is 00010011, so -19 in one’s complement is:
11101100.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• Although the “end carry around” adds some

complexity, one’s complement is simpler to
implement than signed magnitude.
• But it still has the disadvantage of having two
different representations for zero: positive
zero and negative zero.
• Two’s complement solves this problem.
• Two’s complement is the radix complement of
the binary numbering system.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• To express a value in two’s complement:

– If the number is positive, just convert it to binary and
you’re done.
– If the number is negative, find the one’s complement of
the number and then add 1.
• Example:
– In 8-bit one’s complement, positive 3 is: 00000011
– Negative 3 in one’s complement is: 11111100
– Adding 1 gives us -3 in two’s complement form: 11111101.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• With two’s complement arithmetic, all we do is add

our two binary numbers. Just discard any carries
emitting from the high order bit.
– Example: Using one’s complement binary

arithmetic, find the sum of 48 and - 19.

We note that 19 in one’s complement is: 00010011, so -19 in one’s complement is:

11101100,

and -19 in two’s complement is: 11101101.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• When we use any finite number of bits to

represent a number, we always run the risk of
the result of our calculations becoming too large
to be stored in the computer.
• While we can’t always prevent overflow, we can
always detect overflow.
• In complement arithmetic, an overflow condition
is easy to detect.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• Example:
– Using two’s complement binary
arithmetic, find the sum of 107
and 46.
• We see that the nonzero carry
from the seventh bit overflows into
the sign bit, giving us the
erroneous result: 107 + 46 = -103.
Rule for detecting signed two’s complement overflow: When the “carry in” and the “carry out” of the sign bit

differ, overflow has occurred.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• Signed and unsigned numbers are both useful.

– For example, memory addresses are always unsigned.
• Using the same number of bits, unsigned integers
can express twice as many values as signed
numbers.
• Trouble arises if an unsigned value “wraps around.”
– In four bits: 1111 + 1 = 0000.
• Good programmers stay alert for this kind of
problem.

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2.4 Signed Integer Representation

• Overflow and carry are tricky ideas.

• Signed number overflow means nothing in the
context of unsigned numbers, which set a carry
flag instead of an overflow flag.
• If a carry out of the leftmost bit occurs with an
unsigned number, overflow has occurred.
• Carry and overflow occur independently of each
other.
The table on the next slide summarizes these ideas.

50
2.4 Signed Integer Representation

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