ECMA/WAP Forum Presentation

ANSI X3-274 arithmetic [Rexx]

Full-function decimal floating point arithmetic as taught in schools
Preserves matissa length etc. For example, 1.20 x 2 gives 2.40 (not 2.4)
Exact representations as expected (0.1)
Exponents from E-999999999 through E+999999999
Robust: all ill-defined or out of range results raise exceptions
Integers are a seamless subset of all numbers
Heavily used over 16 years, and based on feedback from users, mathematicians, data processing experts, financial experts, etc.
Algorithms are in the ANSI standard
Implementation size around 2K-4K bytes - Mike Cowlishaw