"Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes" - Edsger Dijkstra
"Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes" - Edsger Dijkstra
A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the hope of greening the landscape of the idea. John Ciardi
"Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes" - Edsger Dijkstra
No, when you flip your bits, and add 1 the MSB might change. If the MSB is fixed, then you are talking about S+M. There is one instance where the MSB would change in two's complement (what they call a weird number in the Wikipedia article quoted):-the MSB . . . remains unchanged.
"Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes" - Edsger Dijkstra
Even though the MSB in a two's complement number is always 1 when the number is negative and 0 if the number is not negative (including zero), it does not follow the definition he gives of a sign bit. The value of a two's complement negative number is not (minus) its n-1 all-except-most-significant bits.Is it only a true "sign bit" if
+1 = 00000001
-1 = 10000001
"Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes" - Edsger Dijkstra