Patent ID: 6327604
Filing Date: 2001-12-04
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A common to base representation converter for converting floating point numbers to a base floating point representation that defines a plurality of formats, including a normalized format and a de-normalized format, from a common representation defining a unitary normalized format, the unitary normalized format being used both for numbers that, in the base floating point representation, were in the normalized format and numbers that, in the base floating point representation, were in the de-normalized format, each floating point number in said base floating point representation and said common floating point representation including an exponent field and a fraction field, the common to base representation converter comprising:A. an exponent processor configured to generate from the common floating point representation exponent field the base floating point representation exponent field and fraction de-normalization information; andB. a fraction processor configured to selectively generate from the common floating point representation fraction field and the fraction de-normalization information a base floating point representation fraction field in one of the normalized format or the de-normalized format.