Decimal arithmetic allows you to go beyond the numerical limit of the underlying computer hardware in basic arithmetic operations (i.e. addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). For a good introduction on what the decimal arithmetic is, this page will be a good place to start. When I find time, I will write up some basic introduction of the decimal arithmetic.

My primary goal of this effort is to create a new data type in C++, with semantics similar to the built-in double but with support of decimal arithmetic, to overcome the limitation of binary floating-point arithmetic used in most computer systems today. In doing so, I will follow as closely as humanly possible this specification entitled General Decimal Arithmetic Specification authored by Mike Cowlishaw of IBM UK Laboratories.

My secondary goal is to create a UNO Calc Add-In package to enable decimal arithmetic computation within Calc. Numbers are all represented as text in order to overcome the limitation of the built-in floating-point unit.