Microsoft Binary Format

In computing, Microsoft Binary Format (MBF) is a format for floating-point numbers which was used in Microsoft's BASIC languages, including MBASIC, GW-BASIC and QuickBASIC prior to version 4.00.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

There are two main versions of the format. The original version was designed for memory-constrained systems and stored numbers in 32 bits (4 bytes), with a 23-bit mantissa, 1-bit sign, and an 8-bit exponent. Extended (12k) BASIC included a double-precision type with 64 bits.

During the period when it was being ported from the Intel 8080 platform to the MOS 6502 processor, computers were beginning to ship with more memory as a standard feature. This version was offered with the original 32-bit format or an optional expanded 40-bit (5-byte) format. The 40-bit format was used by most home computers of the 1970s and 1980s. These two versions are sometimes known as "6-digit" and "9-digit", respectively.^[8]

On PCs with x86 processor, QuickBASIC, prior to version 4, reintroduced the double-precision format using a 55-bit mantissa in a 64-bit (8-byte) format. MBF was abandoned during the move to QuickBASIC 4, which used the standard IEEE 754 format, introduced a few years earlier.

^ Cite error: The named reference Microsoft_2006_KB35826 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Microsoft_2005_KB42980 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference StackOverflow_2010_MASM50 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference MASM61 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference GWBASIC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference IBM_1982_BASIC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference TRS80_ROM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Steil_2008_6502 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Microsoft_2006_KB35826-1] Cite error: The named reference Microsoft_2006_KB35826 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Microsoft_2005_KB42980-2] Cite error: The named reference Microsoft_2005_KB42980 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[StackOverflow_2010_MASM50-3] Cite error: The named reference StackOverflow_2010_MASM50 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[MASM61-4] Cite error: The named reference MASM61 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[GWBASIC-5] Cite error: The named reference GWBASIC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[IBM_1982_BASIC-6] Cite error: The named reference IBM_1982_BASIC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[TRS80_ROM-7] Cite error: The named reference TRS80_ROM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Steil_2008_6502-8] Cite error: The named reference Steil_2008_6502 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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