Information Representation
From Rice Wiki
Inside a computer, everything is bits. The topic of information representation discusses how different information inside a computer program actually looks like in the background.
2's complement is a method of representing integers in computer science.
To calculate the value of a number represented by 2's complement, just think of the first bit in the bit pattern as negative. For example, 101 would be 4 + 1 = 5 as an unsigned number, but -4 + 1 = -3 as a signed number represented by 2's complement.
The advantage of using 2's complement over signed magnitude is twofold:
- Easier arithmetic operations
- Greater range of values (since there is no -0)
- To negate signed numbers, flip all bits and add 1. This comes from math:
