Patent ID: 7797360

Claim:
A method of accessing a database from a first processor, said first processor supporting coding of numbers according to IEEE745R format, said first processor accessing said database through a network, the database being controlled by a second processor that is not in compliance with IEEE745R, the method comprising: receiving, by the second processor, an input number as a query to a field of the database, wherein exponent values and significand values of the input number are represented in BCD form; encoding the input number by: converting, by the second processor, a sign of the input number into a sortable representation to yield a sign field; and organizing, by the second processor, the exponent values ahead the significand values in significance order, for each consecutive triplet of BCD values, transforming, by the second processor, the triplet into binary valuations of the decimal number represented by the triplet, each transformed triplet yielding a binary declet, coding, by the second processor, the input number in a sortable floating point form represented by a concatenation of the binary declets and a sign bit, comparing, by the second processor, the encoded input number with numbers stored in the field of the database, retrieving, by the second processor, data stored in the database based on the comparison, and transmitting, by the second processor, the retrieved data to the first processor through the network.