Sign and magnitude

4 – Combinational Logic Design Examples

© 1996 Gaetano Borriello

• One bit dedicate to sign (positive or negative)

  • sign: 0 = positive (or zero), 1 = negative

• Rest represent the absolute value or magnitude

  • three low order bits: 0 (000) thru 7 (111)

• Range for n bits

  • +/– 2n–1 –1 (two representations for 0)

• Cumbersome addition/subtraction

  • must compare magnitudesto determine sign of result

19

0 100 = + 41 100 = – 4

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