Signed number representations

In computing, signed number representations are required to encode negative numbers in binary number systems.

In mathematics, negative numbers in any base are represented by prefixing them with a minus sign ("−"). However, in RAM or CPU registers, numbers are represented only as sequences of bits, without extra symbols. The four best-known methods of extending the binary numeral system to represent signed numbers are: sign–magnitude, ones' complement, two's complement, and offset binary. Some of the alternative methods use implicit instead of explicit signs, such as negative binary, using the base −2. Corresponding methods can be devised for other bases, whether positive, negative, fractional, or other elaborations on such themes.

There is no definitive criterion by which any of the representations is universally superior. For integers, the representation used in most current computing devices is two's complement, although the Unisys ClearPath Dorado series mainframes use ones' complement.

The early days of digital computing were marked by competing ideas about both hardware technology and mathematics technology (numbering systems). One of the great debates was the format of negative numbers, with some of the era's top experts expressing very strong and differing opinions.^{[citation needed]} One camp supported two's complement, the system that is dominant today. Another camp supported ones' complement, where a negative value is formed by inverting all of the bits in its positive equivalent. A third group supported sign–magnitude, where a value is changed from positive to negative simply by toggling the word's highest-order bit.

There were arguments for and against each of the systems. Sign–magnitude allowed for easier tracing of memory dumps (a common process in the 1960s) as small numeric values use fewer 1 bits. These systems did ones' complement math internally, so numbers would have to be converted to ones' complement values when they were transmitted from a register to the math unit and then converted back to sign–magnitude when the result was transmitted back to the register. The electronics required more gates than the other systems – a key concern when the cost and packaging of discrete transistors were critical. IBM was one of the early supporters of sign–magnitude, with their 704, 709 and 709x series computers being perhaps the best-known systems to use it.

Ones' complement allowed for somewhat simpler hardware designs, as there was no need to convert values when passed to and from the math unit. But it also shared an undesirable characteristic with sign–magnitude: the ability to represent negative zero (−0). Negative zero behaves exactly like positive zero: when used as an operand in any calculation, the result will be the same whether an operand is positive or negative zero. The disadvantage is that the existence of two forms of the same value necessitates two comparisons when checking for equality with zero. Ones' complement subtraction can also result in an end-around borrow (described below). It can be argued that this makes the addition and subtraction logic more complicated or that it makes it simpler, as a subtraction requires simply inverting the bits of the second operand as it is passed to the adder. The PDP-1, CDC 160 series, CDC 3000 series, CDC 6000 series, UNIVAC 1100 series, and LINC computer use ones' complement representation.

Two's complement is the easiest to implement in hardware, which may be the ultimate reason for its widespread popularity. Processors on the early mainframes often consisted of thousands of transistors, so eliminating a significant number of transistors was a significant cost savings. Mainframes such as the IBM System/360, the GE-600 series, and the PDP-6 and PDP-10 use two's complement, as did minicomputers such as the PDP-5 and PDP-8 and the PDP-11 and VAX machines. The architects of the early integrated-circuit-based CPUs (Intel 8080, etc.) also chose to use two's complement math. As IC technology advanced, two's complement technology was adopted in virtually all processors, including x86, m68k, Power ISA, MIPS, SPARC, ARM, Itanium, PA-RISC, and DEC Alpha.

In the sign–magnitude representation, also called sign-and-magnitude or signed magnitude, a signed number is represented by the bit pattern corresponding to the sign of the number for the sign bit (often the most significant bit, set to 0 for a positive number and to 1 for a negative number), and the magnitude of the number (or absolute value) for the remaining bits. For example, in an eight-bit byte, only seven bits represent the magnitude, which can range from 0000000 (0) to 1111111 (127). Thus numbers ranging from −127₁₀ to +127₁₀ can be represented once the sign bit (the eighth bit) is added. For example, −43₁₀ encoded in an eight-bit byte is 10101011 while 43₁₀ is 00101011. Using sign–magnitude representation has multiple consequences which makes them more intricate to implement: