Conversion from base-10 representation to a two’s complement binary representation is a fundamental operation in digital systems. This process enables computers to perform arithmetic operations on both positive and negative numbers using binary logic. For instance, the decimal number -5 can be represented in 8-bit two’s complement as 11111011.
This conversion’s significance lies in its capacity to simplify digital circuit design by allowing subtraction to be performed using addition, which streamlines the design of arithmetic logic units (ALUs). Historically, the two’s complement system has been vital to the development of efficient and reliable computer hardware, eliminating the complexities associated with other signed number representations.
