Number representations in a

positional number system

Roshan Gunathilake
Positional Number Systems
 A positional number system is a system
for representation of numbers by an
ordered set of numerals symbols (called
digits) in which the value of a numeral
symbol depends on its position.
 With the use of a radix point (decimal
point in base-10), the notation can be
extended to include fractions and the
numeric expansions of real numbers.
History
 The Babylonian numeral system, base-60,
was the first positional system developed.
 The Hindu–Arabic numeral system, base-
10, is the most commonly used system in
the world today for most calculations.
Decimal Number System
 In base-10 (decimal) positional notation,
there are 10 decimal digits which are
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
 Positional Values
Binary Number System
 In mathematics and digital electronics, a
binary number is a number expressed in
the base-2 numeral system or binary
numeral system.
 It a positional notation with a radix of 2.
Each digit is referred to as a bit.
Positional Values in Binary
Binary Operations
 Converting Decimal to Binary

 Binary addition
Sign bit
 If the sign bit is “0”, the number is
positive. If the sign bit is “1”, then the
number is negative.
The Ones’ Complement
 The ones' complement of a binary
number is defined as the value obtained
by inverting all the bits in the binary
representation of the number (swapping
0s for 1s and vice versa).
The Twos’ Complement
 The negative of a binary number
represented by switching all ones to zeros
and all zeros to ones and then adding one
to the result.
 Two's complement is used because it is
simpler to implement in circuitry and also
does not allow a negative zero.

Hexadecimal Representation
 Hexadecimal (also base 16, or hex) is a
positional numeral system with a radix, or
base, of 16.
 It uses sixteen distinct symbols, most
often the symbols 0–9 to represent values
zero to nine, and A–F (or alternatively a–f)
to represent values ten to fifteen.
Use of Hexadecimal
 Hexadecimal numerals are widely used by
computer system designers and
programmers, as they provide a more
human-friendly representation of binary-
coded values.
 Each hexadecimal digit represents four
binary digits, also known as a nibble,
which is half a byte.
Use of Hexadecimal
 Ex: A single byte can have values ranging
from 0000 0000 to 1111 1111 in binary
form, which can be more conveniently
represented as 00 to FF in hexadecimal.