Negative Numbers
32 bits can only represent 232 numbers – if we wish to also represent
negative numbers, we can represent 231 positive numbers (incl zero)
and 231 negative numbers
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000two = 0ten
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0001two = 1ten
…
0111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111two = 231-1
1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000two = -231
1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0001two = -(231 – 1)
1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0010two = -(231 – 2)
…
1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1110two = -2
1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111two = -1
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2’s Complement
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000two = 0ten
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0001two = 1ten
…
0111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111two = 231-1
1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000two = -231
1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0001two = -(231 – 1)
1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0010two = -(231 – 2)
…
1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1110two = -2
1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111two = -1
Why is this representation favorable?
Consider the sum of 1 and -2 …. we get -1
Consider the sum of 2 and -1 …. we get +1
This format can directly undergo addition without any conversions!
Each number represents the quantity
x31 -231 + x30 230 + x29 229 + … + x1 21 + x0 20 10
2’s Complement
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000two = 0ten
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0001two = 1ten
…
0111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111two = 231-1
1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000two = -231
1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0001two = -(231 – 1)
1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0010two = -(231 – 2)
…
1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1110two = -2
1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111two = -1
Note that the sum of a number x and its inverted representation x’ always
equals a string of 1s (-1).
x + x’ = -1
x’ + 1 = -x … hence, can compute the negative of a number by
-x = x’ + 1 inverting all bits and adding 1
Similarly, the sum of x and –x gives us all zeroes, with a carry of 1
In reality, x + (-x) = 2n … hence the name 2’s complement 11
Example
• Compute the 32-bit 2’s complement representations
for the following decimal numbers:
5, -5, -6
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Example
• Compute the 32-bit 2’s complement representations
for the following decimal numbers:
5, -5, -6
5: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0101
-5: 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1011
-6: 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1010
Given -5, verify that negating and adding 1 yields the
number 5
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Signed / Unsigned
• The hardware recognizes two formats:
unsigned (corresponding to the C declaration unsigned int)
-- all numbers are positive, a 1 in the most significant bit
just means it is a really large number
signed (C declaration is signed int or just int)
-- numbers can be +/- , a 1 in the MSB means the number
is negative
This distinction enables us to represent twice as many
numbers when we’re sure that we don’t need negatives
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MIPS Instructions
Consider a comparison instruction:
slt $t0, $t1, $zero
and $t1 contains the 32-bit number 1111 01…01
What gets stored in $t0?
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MIPS Instructions
Consider a comparison instruction:
slt $t0, $t1, $zero
and $t1 contains the 32-bit number 1111 01…01
What gets stored in $t0?
The result depends on whether $t1 is a signed or unsigned
number – the compiler/programmer must track this and
accordingly use either slt or sltu
slt $t0, $t1, $zero stores 1 in $t0
sltu $t0, $t1, $zero stores 0 in $t0
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Sign Extension
• Occasionally, 16-bit signed numbers must be converted
into 32-bit signed numbers – for example, when doing an
add with an immediate operand
• The conversion is simple: take the most significant bit and
use it to fill up the additional bits on the left – known as
sign extension
So 210 goes from 0000 0000 0000 0010 to
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0010
and -210 goes from 1111 1111 1111 1110 to
1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1110
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Alternative Representations
• The following two (intuitive) representations were discarded
because they required additional conversion steps before
arithmetic could be performed on the numbers
sign-and-magnitude: the most significant bit represents
+/- and the remaining bits express the magnitude
one’s complement: -x is represented by inverting all
the bits of x
Both representations above suffer from two zeroes
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Addition and Subtraction
• Addition is similar to decimal arithmetic
• For subtraction, simply add the negative number – hence,
subtract A-B involves negating B’s bits, adding 1 and A
Source: H&P textbook
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Overflows
• For an unsigned number, overflow happens when the last carry (1)
cannot be accommodated
• For a signed number, overflow happens when the most significant bit
is not the same as every bit to its left
when the sum of two positive numbers is a negative result
when the sum of two negative numbers is a positive result
The sum of a positive and negative number will never overflow
• MIPS allows addu and subu instructions that work with unsigned
integers and never flag an overflow – to detect the overflow, other
instructions will have to be executed
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