Negative Number into Hexadecimal

In summary, there are multiple methods for converting a negative number into hexadecimal format, including using a sign bit or two's complement. Other methods such as one's complement and excess-n notation are also used, but have limitations. Two's complement is the most commonly used method for representing negative numbers in binary.
  • #1
majeedh
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how would you convert a negative number into a hexadecimal format?
 
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  • #2
majeedh said:
how would you convert a negative number into a hexadecimal format?

There are a couple of methods of doing so.

One is to use a sign bit, where the MSB represents the sign (1 meaning negative. Thus 01 would represent +1 and 81 would represent -1 for two digit Hex numbers

Another is two's complement. Here you invert all the bits and then add 1 to the result. thus 01 still represents +1 and FF represents -1.

The advantage of two's complement is that it is easy to do with logic gates, and gives a result that you can add directly. For example, FF + 01 =00 (ignoring the carry)

other examples:
0C + FA = 07 (12 + (-5) = +7)
05 + F3 = F9 (5+(-12) =-7)
 
  • #3
There are a couple of other methods in use: one's complement and excess-n notation. Ones complement is even easier to implement than two's complement: simply flip each bit. In excess-n notation, 0 represents -n, 1 represents -n+1, and so on.

One problem with signed magnitude and ones complement notation is that both have positive and negative zero as different numbers. This is one of the reasons these two techniques have largely been abandoned.

Two's complement is the dominant mechanism by which negative numbers are represented in binary. There is one important exception: Excess-n notation is used to represent the exponent in the IEEE floating point representation.
 

1. What is a negative number?

A negative number is a numerical value that is less than zero. It is represented by a minus sign (-) in front of the number.

2. What is hexadecimal?

Hexadecimal is a number system that uses 16 digits to represent numerical values. These digits include 0-9 and A-F, with A representing the numerical value of 10 and F representing the numerical value of 15.

3. How do you convert a negative number into hexadecimal?

To convert a negative number into hexadecimal, you first need to convert the number into its positive form. Then, you can use the same process as converting a positive number into hexadecimal, which involves dividing the number by 16 and using the remainder as the hexadecimal digit. Repeat this process until the number becomes 0.

4. Can negative numbers have hexadecimal values?

Yes, negative numbers can have hexadecimal values. The negative sign is represented by the first digit, and the remaining digits represent the positive value of the number in hexadecimal form.

5. Why is it important to understand negative numbers in hexadecimal?

Understanding negative numbers in hexadecimal is important because it allows for a more efficient and compact representation of negative values in computer systems. It also helps in performing mathematical operations on negative numbers in computer programming.

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