8decimal

8decimal is a software project and platform that provides precise decimal arithmetic centered on eight decimal places. The naming reflects its core precision, eight fractional digits, intended to standardize monetary calculations across systems.

The core feature is a fixed-point decimal type that stores values as integers and applies scaling by 10^8, avoiding binary floating-point errors. It supports arithmetic operations, comparisons, serialization, and formatting, with deterministic rounding rules and currency-aware helpers.

Interoperability is a key goal, with libraries or bindings for multiple programming languages and easy embedding in fintech applications, cryptocurrency wallets, and accounting software. Its design emphasizes performance suitable for real-time processing while maintaining strict precision.

History and governance: The project emerged in the early 2020s from a consortium of developers concerned with monetary precision. It is maintained through versioned releases and community contributions, with documentation and example usage available in the hosted repository.

Reception and usage: Proponents highlight reduced rounding errors and reproducible results across environments; critics note potential complexity compared with native decimal types or arbitrary-precision libraries. The project is often used as a reference model for fixed-point decimal handling in financial software.

See also: fixed-point arithmetic; decimal datatype; financial software; currency formatting.