A quick summary of IEEE 754 Notation:

The Problem - How can you write a floating-point number in a form that the computer can understand?
A Solution - It's easier than you might suspect.
The Messy Details

Examples using ugly numbers:

Float -> IEEE
IEEE -> Float

Additional resources:

A nice Java applet that converts floating point to single-precision IEEE 754 form. (Courtesy of WPI)
Coming Soon: Jon Mathews' conversion programs (TI BASIC)

By: S. Orley, J. Mathews
Last Modified: 9 October 2000

Send questions and corrections to selavi@iastate.edu