[comp.os.vms] Conversion between VAX and IEEE floating point

mooremj@EGLIN-VAX.ARPA ("MARTIN J. MOORE") (08/03/88)

Someone recently asked about converting VAX floating-point numbers to IEEE 
standard floating-point numbers.  I have run across a mildly bizarre hack for 
performing this conversion when (1) the numbers are single precision (32-bit) 
in both cases; and (2) the destination machine requires 32-bit quantities
to be specified high-word, low-word (opposite to the VAX, which is low-word,
high-word.)  For example, 68000-based machines.

The formulas are simply:

	IEEE number = VAX number * 0.25 
	VAX number = IEEE number * 4.0

with the caveat that the multiplication is performed *on the VAX*.

				Marty Moore
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