Zahlformaten

Zahlformaten describes the different representations of numbers used in writing, science, computing, and data exchange. They range from locale-dependent decimal notations to non-decimal bases and specialized notations.

Decimal notation is the most common form, using digits 0–9 to express integers and fractions. Local conventions vary for the decimal separator and thousands grouping: in many Western countries a point serves as the decimal separator and a comma or space as the thousands separator, while other locales use different characters or conventions.

Scientific and engineering notation expresses numbers as a mantissa and an exponent, such as 3.14e2 for 314, enabling compact representation of very large or very small numbers. In computing, fixed-point and floating-point formats store numbers with fixed or variable precision and range, influencing accuracy and performance.

Currency and percentage formats attach symbols or codes, specify rounding rules, and apply locale-specific rules for symbol placement and spacing. Percentages are typically written with a percent sign and may be derived from decimal fractions.

Beyond decimal, numbers can be represented in bases such as binary, octal, and hexadecimal, common in programming and digital systems. These often use prefixes (for example, 0b, 0o, 0x) to indicate the base and are essential in low-level computing and data encoding.

Numerals in other scripts—such as Roman numerals, or digits used in Arabic-Indic, Devanagari, or other writing systems—illustrate the diversity of Zahlformaten. Unicode and locale data standards provide support for rendering and parsing numbers across languages and regions.

In practice, Zahlformaten affect data entry, parsing, user interface design, and interoperability. Thorough handling of formats is important in software, databases, spreadsheets, and internationalized applications.