Java Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 20
Computer Number Systems
The Hindu-Arabic Numerals
Bytheyear800A.D.theArabswereusingaten-symbolpositionalsystemof
numberswhichincludedthespecialsymbolfor0.Thissystem(latercalled
the Hindu-Arabic or Arabic numerals) was introduced into Europe during
the8thcentury,probablythroughSpain.PopeSylvesterII,whohadstudied
the Arabic numbers in Spain, was the first European scholar to support
them.TheLatintitleofthefirstbookonthesubjectof“Indiannumbers”is
Liber Algorismi de Numero Indorum.
The author is the Arab mathemati-
cian al-Khowarizmi. The Hindu-Arabic numerals have been adopted by
practically all the nations and cultures of the world.
In spite of its advantages, the Arabic number system originally con-
fronted considerable debate and controversy. Some scholars of the time
considered that Roman numerals were easier to learn and more conve-
nient for operations on the abacus. The supporters of the Roman numeral
system, called
abacists
, engaged in intellectual combat with the
algorist
,
who were in favor of the Arabic numerals. Abacists and algorists debated
about the advantages of their systems for several centuries, with the
Catholic church often siding with the abacists. Because of their origin the
Hindu-Arabic numerals were sometimes called
heathen numbers
.
Perhaps the most significant feature of the Arabic numbers is the pres-
ence of a symbol (0), which by itself represents no quantity, but which
can be combined with other symbols to form larger numbers. This use of
the digit 0 results in a system in which the value of each digit depends on
its position in a digit string. For example,
