ILE C/C++ Programmer's Guide

This chapter describes how to:
The packed decimal data type representation includes integral and
fractional parts. The ILE C compiler supports the packed decimal data
type as an extension to ISO C.
- Note:
- This is strictly a C data type. C++ decimal support is provided in the
bcd class. The header file is
bcd.h. For more information, refer to the WebSphere Development Studio: ILE C/C++ Language
Reference.
You can use the packed decimal data type to:
- Represent large numeric quantities accurately, especially in
business and commercial applications for financial calculations. For
example, the fractional part of a dollar can be represented accurately by two
digits that follow the decimal point.
- Note:
- You do not have to use floating point arithmetic. Floating
point is more suitable for scientific and engineering computations, which
often use numbers that:
- Are much larger than the largest packed decimal variable can store
- Are much smaller than the smallest packed decimal, but do not have enough
precision for commercial use
- Declare type definitions, arrays, structures, and unions that have packed
decimal members. You can apply operators (unary operators) on packed
decimal variables. Bitwise operators do not apply to packed decimal
data. The packed decimal data type in ILE C is compatible with packed
decimal representations in RPG for iSeries and COBOL for iSeries. You
can also define macros and call library functions with packed decimal
arguments. WebSphere Development Studio: ILE
C/C++ Language Reference contains information on the packed decimal data
type.
- Note:
- To use the decimal, digitsof, and
precisionof macros in your code, you must specify the
<decimal.h> header file in your ILE C source.
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