float_t - Linux

Overview

float_t is a Linux command used to convert a floating-point number, represented as a string, into its corresponding binary representation. This is particularly useful for low-level programming, data analysis, and debugging tasks.

Syntax

float_t [--help] [--version] <float_string>

Options/Flags

| Option | Description | Default |
|—|—|—|
| --help | Display usage information and exit | – |
| --version | Print version number and exit | – |

Examples

Simple Conversion:

echo "3.14" | float_t
00111111110000000000000000000000

Complex Conversion:

float_t "1.234567890123456789e-10"
0010000101100110011001100110011001100110011001100110011001100110

Common Issues

• Invalid Input: Ensure the input string represents a valid floating-point number.
• Overflow or Underflow: For extreme values, conversion may result in overflow or underflow.

Integration

Bit Manipulation:

value=$(float_t "1.5")
mask=0x0000000080000000
echo "$((value & mask))" # Extract the sign bit

Data Analysis:

cat data.csv | while read line; do
   num=$(float_t "$line")
   echo "$num,$line"
done > transformed_data.csv

Related Commands

• bc: Perform arbitrary-precision floating-point arithmetic.
• printf: Format and print data, including floating-point numbers.
• IEEE 754 Floating-Point Converter: Online tool for converting between floating-point representations.