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Can someone please explain this?

As I understand it provides less precision..Is it a speed-up that one wishes to get by using it? When is it good to use? Should I use it in Matlab Coder?

Michael Ward
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Not all the computers in the world use floating-point arithmetic. In particular, many devices which have a connection to the world (such as sensors and the computers which process their data) use fixed-point representations of numbers. Some researchers into algorithms and similar matters also want to use fixed-point numbers. Matlab's fixed-point toolbox allows its users to do fixed-point arithmetic on their PCs, and to write code targeted at execution on devices which implement it.

It's not (necessarily) true that the Matlab fixed-point arithmetic provides less precision, it can be used to provide more precision than IEEE floating-point types.

Is it a speed up ? That's beside the point. (Read on)

When is it good to use ? When you need to use fixed-point arithmetic. I'm not sure anyone would recommend it as a general-purpose replacement for floating-point arithmetic.

Should you use it ? Your question suggests that the answer is almost certainly 'No, you would already know that you ought to be using fixed-point arithmetic.'

High Performance Mark
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  • By the quote **'No, you would already know that you ought to be using fixed-point arithmetic.'** DO you mean **No, if it would have been good for you to use it, you would be aware of its function on beforehand.** ? – Michael Ward Mar 06 '12 at 10:03