The Complement (mathematics) reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Complement (mathematics)

In mathematics, complement is an operation that transforms an integer into its additive inverse. It is useful for subtracting numbers when only addition is possible, or is easiest.

Negative numbers are one form of additive inverse; subtracting 5 from 8 is the same as adding -5 to 8. Another form of subtraction deals only with positive numbers, and is called the method of complements. One common form of this is the two's complement, which is often used in computer microprocessors which perform calculations using the binary numeral system.

See also: one's complement

This is the "Complement (mathematics)" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.