Dezimalpunkts

Dezimalpunkt is the term used to refer to the decimal point, the symbol that separates the integer part from the fractional part in decimal notation. The plural Dezimalpunkte can be used when discussing multiple instances of the symbol, and the genitive form is the Dezimalpunkts (des Dezimalpunkts).

In many German-language contexts the standard decimal separator for human-readable numbers is the Dezimalkomma (a comma), while the Dezimalpunkt (a dot) is commonly used in computing, programming, and international data formats. The distinction between Dezimalpunkt and Dezimalkomma reflects broader differences in numeric notation across regions and applications.

History and usage: The concept of decimal fractions was popularized in Europe during the early modern period, notably by Simon Stevin in the 16th century. The specific symbol used to separate the decimal part evolved with printing and typographic conventions, and today the decimal point is standardized in many computing and data standards as the Dezimalpunkt.

In practice: The Dezimalpunkt appears in mathematical and scientific notation as 3.14 or 0.001, and it also features in programming languages as a literal for floating-point numbers (for example, 12.34). In everyday German writing, numbers are typically written with a Dezimalkomma, while the Dezimalpunkt is used for code, data files, or in international contexts where the period serves as the decimal separator.

See also: Decimal separator, Dezimalkomma, Floating-point notation, Numeric formats.