Java Reference
In-Depth Information
3.1025 E2
4.256 E-4
Because the decimal point
floats
according to the value of the expo-
nent, these representations are called floating-point. For many years
computers have used floating-point binary representations for encoding
decimal numbers. Several computer manufacturers came up with their
own schemes for representing decimal numbers in floating-point format.
In 1985, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved a bi-
nary floating-point standard based on the work of the Computer Society
of the Institute for Electric and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). This stan-
dard, designated as ANSI-IEEE 754 is now generally followed. Java uses
the ANSI-IEEE 754 formats for storing decimal numbers encoded in bi-
nary.
