Chapter Four Summary
Computer arithmetic is constrained by limited precision
Bit patterns have no inherent meaning but standards do exist
- two’s complement
- IEEE 754 floating point
Computer instructions determine “meaning” of the bit patterns
Performance and accuracy are important so there are many complexities in real machines (i.e., algorithms and implementation).
We are ready to move on (and implement the processor) you may want to look back (Section 4.12 is great reading!)