A symbol that identifies a positive or negative number. In digital code, it is either a separate character or part of the byte. In ASCII, the sign is kept in a separate character typically transmitted in front of the number it represents
(+ and - is 2B and 2D in hex).
In EBCDIC, the minus sign can be stored as a separate byte (hex 60), or, more commonly, as half a byte (+ and - is C and D in hex), which is stored in the high-order bits of the least significant byte. For packed decimal, it is in the low-order bits of the least significant byte.
(+ and - is 2B and 2D in hex).
In EBCDIC, the minus sign can be stored as a separate byte (hex 60), or, more commonly, as half a byte (+ and - is C and D in hex), which is stored in the high-order bits of the least significant byte. For packed decimal, it is in the low-order bits of the least significant byte.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Antitrust suit against Apple, AT&T moves forward
- A federal judge has ruled that an antitrust suit against Apple and A&T over exclusivity deals for the iPhone may move forward, Ars Technica reports. Apple and AT&T signed a five-year exclusive deal but only told consumers they would have to sign up for a two-year...
- Blog posts 2008-10-07
- CEATEC Roundup: Sony's 0.3mm OLED display, Sharp's solar-power TV, Panasonic's LifeWall concept
- While we all wait around until January for the Consumer Electronics Show, an event like CEATEC Japan can give us a taste of the future for home theater. And since ZDNet didn't offer to fly me over there to check it out first-hand (cough, next year, cough), I had to...
- Blog posts 2008-10-06
- WSO2 eases enterprise data availability for SOA access, consumption
- In its initial release, the application supports access to data stored in relational databases such as Oracle, MySQL and IBM DB2, as well as the comma-separated values CSV file format, and Excel spreadsheets. It allows users to authenticate, encrypt and sign services using the WS-Security and HTTP security standards. In...
- Blog posts 2008-10-06
- Eight ways to track your portfolio on the iPhone
- In case you haven't been paying attention, U.S. financial markets are in a tailspin (Dow and AAPL both down 4 6+% today). Securities continue on their relentless roller coaster ride that could make veteran stock brokers lose their lunch. If you'd like to stay more in touch...
- Blog posts 2008-10-06
- A Consumer Electronics Carol
- I recently received a promotional email from a large Internet-based retailer that shall for the moment remain nameless (cough! Amaz-ahem!)Â As I was considered to be a high-volume "Prime" customer, this online retailer wanted to offer me a 30-day trial of their their premier store-branded consumer...
- Blog posts 2008-10-06
- Microsoft bad cop is up against the wall
- Microsoft bad cop is up against the wallEnough open-source propagandaIf this was about a technical violation of a license, focus on that and leave out the bias. I think we've all seen enough crappy and inept open source code that your comment about "being in retreat" against it is laughable.As...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-05
- Hands-on review of the Logitech Squeezebox Boom
- After seeing my mildly skeptical post about the release of its Squeezebox Boom Internet radio device, Logitech offered to send me a sample unit to review, promising me I'd be pleasantly surprised with the audio output from the compact unit. I've been testing it out over the last few weeks,...
- Blog posts 2008-10-04
- End the spectre of science for sale
- End the spectre of science for saleOr Not[i]He will graduate from high school next spring, an honor student, and cost me a fortune at some elite college.[/i]Depends on what he really wants to study. There are some world-class universities that are also shockingly inexpensive, even for out-of-state students. ...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-03
- Election Talking Points: A discussion place
- Election Talking Points: A discussion placeSpoken like a true believer in ...a constitutional republic.RE: Election Talking Points: A discussion placereally this post is for an opinion location,It really becomes a bunch of BSGuess doe to reports about the debate it help McCain,everyone has to put two cents of nonsense,Ok...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-03
- Election Talking Points: A discussion place
- Looking at posts like this one about Sarah Palin's many email accounts it's become obvious to me that there's a desire to talk about a wide range of election issues and viewpoints, not limited to the technology connection. Especially with the importance of the financial crisis, I think we need...
- Blog posts 2008-10-03
- Lawson Q109: 'sloppy execution'
- Harry Debes, CEO at Lawson Software doesn't mince his words. So when the company announced its missed Q1 fiscal 2009 results PDF yesterday it came as no surprise that during the earnings call he had this to say about the way the company performed: ...some of this was sloppy...
- Blog posts 2008-10-03
- Gadget nostalgia: Five things I had and five things I have now
- Gadget nostalgia: Five things I had and five things I have nowRE: Gadget nostalgia: Five things I had and five things I have nowMy friend, you are correct. Kudos to you, and thanks for the heads-up.I think the slash in the C:/ prompt is backwards...C: instead of C:/ in PC...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-02
- Obama launches iPhone app; US election good for Twitter
- Obama launches iPhone app; US election good for Twittermore reasons to dump the iPhoneAny true American will ignore this liberal application, and even drop the iPhone for a Blackberry.I’ll take a device that was created with McCain’s help over the Gore’s iPhone any day!RE: Obama launches iPhone app; US election...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-02
- Live Labs kills Deepfish; suspends Volta downloads
- Live Labs kills Deepfish; suspends Volta downloadsVolta and PDCI'm guessing Volta will show up again at the PDC. Dharma Shukla's Live Platform Architecture session seems to hint at it with "hybrid client/cloud scripting". I also wouldn't be surprised if a stand-alone Volta session is added at the last...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-02
- Obama launches iPhone app; US election good for Twitter
- The Obama campaign is hoping to turn Apple's iPhone into a political recruiting tool like none seen before, while Twitter usage and sign-ups received a healthy boost during last Friday's first presidential debate for the 08 campaign. by Steve O'Hear
- Blog posts 2008-10-02
- Apple aims to dismiss Psystar countersuit
- Apple aims to dismiss Psystar countersuitTime will tell.....However knowing Apple I have my doubts about the suits success. Still if they do loose the case there is nothing stopping Apple from switching processors again. So far that tact hasn't hurt business any.Pagan jimTheftThis is an abstraction, you're going...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-01
- Microsoft's search perks gambit eyes 22% of market up for grabs
- Microsoft's search perks gambit eyes 22% of market up for grabsRE: Microsoft's search perks gambit eyes 22% of market up for grabsThis is an excellent program! If you are going to search for a something you might as well use the one that gives you relevant results like Microsoft...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-01
- Apple to music industry - It's our way, or iTunes gets the bullet!
- Apple to music industry - It's our way, or iTunes gets the bullet!RE: Apple to music industry - It's our way, or iTunes gets the bullet!One can only home apple shuts iTunes downMusic Industry to AppleLOL!disagree strongly"one appeal of the iPod is how easy it is to buy music for...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-01
- Welcome to the White Space
- The Wireless Innovation Alliance (brought to you by Google, Micosoft, Motorola, Public Knowledge, etc.) has produced an excellent video on the benefits of white spaces as part of the Google-led lobbying campaign. Among the arguments, according to the video: Unused spectrum has a large...
- Blog posts 2008-10-01
- Microsoft tries to lure more searchers with another giveaway
- Microsoft tries to lure more searchers with another giveawayRE: Microsoft tries to lure more searchers with another giveawayOdd way to grow share by limiting the number of people who can join. You're assuming that you need to pay them to search with you a dangerous precedent and by limiting...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-01
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- Which solar technology will survive?
-
At the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco, Todd Glass of Heller Ehrman moderates a discussion, among tech execs, on the various solar technologies making a difference in the green movement.
- Watch the video >>
- Live chat with Intel experts on ZDNet!
-
What is hardware-based virtualization, and how can it make a difference in your business? Ask the people who developed the new Intel® Xeon® processor 7400 series. Intel engineers, technology architects, and other experts will be here live-answering your questions and discussing how Intel® technology can help increase IT performance.
- Ask the experts on October 8, 11AM-1PM PDT >>
- BNET Industries
- Check out BNET's newest resource for managers and executives. Need to do research on your competitors? Don't have time to read every trade pub? BNET Industries is the new source for daily news, insights, and research on 11 major industries and 9,000 public companies.
-
- The technology industry from a different angle
-
- See what's hot in the auto industry
-
- Stay on top of the energy industry
