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The decimal separator is a is the separator in Binary ." --> Terms implying the symbol used are '''decimal point''' and '''decimal comma'''.

The decimal separator is mathematically a Radix Point .

The choice of symbol for the decimal separator affects the choice of symbol for the thousands separator. Consequently the latter is treated in this article as well.


HISTORY


In the Mathematician Al-Khwarizmi . Later, a separator (a short, roughly vertical, Ink Stroke ) between the units and tenths position became the norm. When this character was Typeset , it was convenient to use the existing Comma (,) or Period (.) instead.

In for international blueprints.

However, in 1951. The Constructed Language Esperanto also uses the comma as its official decimal separator.

In the Arab World and Iran , where Arabic digits are used for writing numbers, a different character called '' Momayyez '' — which is written like a forward Slash — is used to separate the integer and fractional parts of numbers. To separate Sequence s of three digits, a comma or Blank Space may be used; however, this is not a standard. In Persian , there is a small difference between the "comma" character used in sentences and the comma-like character used to separate sequences of three digits. {Link without Title}

The separator in non-decimal Numeral System s may be referred to as a Radix Point .

In 1958, disputes between European and American delegates over the correct representation of the decimal separator nearly stalled the development of the ALGOL language. Perlis, Alan, ''The American Side of the Development of ALGOL'', ACM SIGPLAN Notices, August 1978.


THOUSANDS SEPARATOR

Numbers with many digits before and/or after the decimal separator may be divided into groups of three, starting from the decimal separator in both directions.The symbol for this is called the thousands separator or, more generally (see India below), '''digit group separator'''. If the decimal separator is a point, the thousands separator is often a comma or a space. The latter is recommended in the SI/ISO 31-0 {Link without Title} ; when a space is used, it is often used after the decimal separator too, thus "1 234.567 89". If the decimal separator is a comma, the thousands separator is often a point or a space. Notations like "12,345", "12.345", "12,345.678", and "12.345,678" are ambiguous if the notational system is not known.

Making groups of three digits also emphasizes that there is a base 1000 of the numeral system that is being used. See Decimal Superbase .

The house manuals of style for many publishing organizations state that thousands separators should not be used in normal text for numbers from 1000 to 9999 inclusive where no decimal fractional part is shown (in other words, for four-digit whole numbers). This does not apply in mathematical and other technical contexts.


EXAMPLES OF USE


The following examples show the decimal separator and the thousands separator; the lists are ordered chronologically, by when each country adopted the use:

  • In France , Finland , Hungary and much of '' Latin '' Europe as well as French Canada : 1 234 567,89

  • In you may also come across 1·234·567,89)

  • In Switzerland ''(mainly German-speaking Switzerland)'': 1'234'567,89

  • In , documents; many British and Canadian schools now teach the SI style with a dot separator, which has become official in Australia .

  • SI style: 1 234 567.89 (dot countries) or 1 234 567''','''89 (comma countries)

  • In , there is a word for 10,000 (the next new word is for 108, not 106 as in most languages).

  • In India , due to a numeral system using '' Lakh s'' (100,000) and '' Crore s'' (10,000,000), an asymmetric distribution of comma separators is commonly used, for example, 30 million (3 crores) would be written as 3,00,00,000, with commas at the thousand, lakh, and crore levels.


In countries with a decimal comma, the decimal point is also common as the "international" notation and under the influence of e.g. Electronic Calculator s using the decimal point. Most computer Operating Systems allow selection of the decimal separator and programs that have been carefully internationalised will follow this but some programs ignore it and a few are even broken by it.


DOT COUNTRIES


Countries where a dot is used to mark the radix point include:
: Australia , Brunei , Botswana , Canada (English-speaking), Hong Kong , India , Ireland , Israel , Japan , Korea (both North and South ), Malaysia , Mexico , New Zealand , Nigeria , Pakistan , People's Republic Of China , Philippines , Singapore , Sri Lanka , Taiwan , Thailand , United Kingdom , United States (including Insular Area s), Zimbabwe


COMMA COUNTRIES


Countries where a comma is used to mark the radix point include:
: Albania , Andorra , Argentina , Austria , Azerbaijan , Belarus , Belgium , Bolivia , Bosnia And Herzegovina , Brazil , Bulgaria , Cameroon , Canada (French-speaking), Costa Rica , Croatia , Cuba , Chile , Colombia , Cyprus , Czech Republic , Denmark , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Estonia , Faroes , Finland , France , Germany , Greece , Greenland , Guatemala , Honduras , Hungary , Indonesia , Iceland , Italy , Latvia , Lithuania , Luxembourg (uses both separators officially), Macedonia , Moldova , Netherlands , Norway , Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay , Peru , Poland , Portugal , Romania , Russia , Serbia , Slovakia , South Africa (officially, but dot point is commonly used in business and science), Slovenia , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , Turkey , Ukraine , Uruguay , Venezuela , Vietnam


MOMAYYEZ COUNTRIES


Bahrain , Iran , Iraq , Kuwait , Oman , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , Syria , UAE


SEE ALSO





REFERENCES