Microsoft Binary Format
Encyclopedia
In computing
, Microsoft Binary Format (MBF) was a format for floating point
numbers used in Microsoft
's BASIC
language products including MBASIC
, QuickBasic
and GW-BASIC
.
MBF double-precision numbers consist of a sign bit
, an eight bit exponent and a 55 bit significand
, providing slightly more precison than the IEEE 754 format, but less scale.
By the time Visual Basic
was released, the IEEE 754 standard had become widely adopted - for example, it was incorporated into Intel's 387
coprocessor and every x86 processor from the 486
on. Visual Basic uses the IEEE 754 format instead of MBF.
source code containing functions to convert MBF data to IEEE 754.
MBF to IEEE function written in Python
MBF to IEEE conversion functions in C/C++ stolen from old Microsoft supported code.
Computing
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
, Microsoft Binary Format (MBF) was a format for floating point
Floating point
In computing, floating point describes a method of representing real numbers in a way that can support a wide range of values. Numbers are, in general, represented approximately to a fixed number of significant digits and scaled using an exponent. The base for the scaling is normally 2, 10 or 16...
numbers used in Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's BASIC
BASIC
BASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use - the name is an acronym from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code....
language products including MBASIC
MBASIC
MBASIC is the Microsoft BASIC implementation of BASIC for the CP/M operating system. MBASIC is a descendant of the original Altair BASIC interpreters that were among Microsoft's first products. MBASIC was one of the two versions of BASIC bundled with the Osborne 1 computer...
, QuickBasic
QuickBASIC
Microsoft QuickBASIC is an Integrated Development Environment and compiler for the BASIC programming language that was developed by Microsoft. QuickBASIC runs mainly on DOS, though there was a short-lived version for Mac OS...
and GW-BASIC
GW-BASIC
GW-BASIC was a dialect of the programming language BASIC developed by Microsoft from BASICA, originally for Compaq. It is compatible with Microsoft/IBM BASICA, but was disk based and did not need the ROM BASIC. It was bundled with MS-DOS operating systems on IBM PC compatibles by Microsoft...
.
MBF double-precision numbers consist of a sign bit
Bit
A bit is the basic unit of information in computing and telecommunications; it is the amount of information stored by a digital device or other physical system that exists in one of two possible distinct states...
, an eight bit exponent and a 55 bit significand
Significand
The significand is part of a floating-point number, consisting of its significant digits. Depending on the interpretation of the exponent, the significand may represent an integer or a fraction.-Examples:...
, providing slightly more precison than the IEEE 754 format, but less scale.
By the time Visual Basic
Visual Basic
Visual Basic is the third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment from Microsoft for its COM programming model...
was released, the IEEE 754 standard had become widely adopted - for example, it was incorporated into Intel's 387
387
Year 387 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Eutropius...
coprocessor and every x86 processor from the 486
486
Year 486 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Basilius and Longinus...
on. Visual Basic uses the IEEE 754 format instead of MBF.
See also
Microsoft provides a 16 bit dynamic link library with CC (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
source code containing functions to convert MBF data to IEEE 754.
MBF to IEEE function written in Python
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
MBF to IEEE conversion functions in C/C++ stolen from old Microsoft supported code.