Arithmetic Data

Each arithmetic value is characterized by a base (binary or decimal), a scale (fixed-point or floating-point), and a precision (the number of digits in the value). These three properties collectively constitute the data type of the arithmetic value.

The data type of arithmetic values is expressed using the following attributes:

• FIXED BINARY(p) and FIXED DECIMAL(p,q) for fixed-point data
• FLOAT BINARY(p) and FLOAT DECIMAL(p) for floating-point data

where p is the precision and q is the number of fractional digits in the precision.

Each implementation of PL/I imposes limits on the maximum values of p and q, and these limits typically differ for each combination of base and scale. Refer to your Open PL/I User's Guide for information on the default precision and maximum precision for each arithmetic data type in Open PL/I.