> negative numbers have a "hidden -2" instead of a "hidden 1" Isn't this just (what I assumed was) the standard implementation technique for FPUs that aren't[0

> negative numbers have a "hidden -2" instead of a "hidden 1" Isn't this just (what I assumed was) the standard implementation technique for FPUs that aren't[0] stuck with IBM/Intel's braindead sign-magnitude junk? 0: so (eg, for a 1.7.8 float) -1.996..-1.000 would be 3F00-3FFF, and +1.000..+1.996 would be C000-C0FF, making 0x[-2].00-0x[-2].FF and 0x[+1].00-0x[+1].FF (with implicit -2/+1 corresponding to 3F/C0)