Decimal Separator Usage Worldwide
– Both comma and period are accepted as decimal separators internationally.
– Space is the recommended thousands separator.
– Period is used as the thousands separator in many non-English speaking countries.
– Comma is used as the thousands separator in most English-speaking countries.
– Conventions worldwide may require cleanup to meet quality standards.
History of Decimal Separator
– In the Middle Ages, a bar or underbar was used to separate integral and fractional parts of a number.
– Arab mathematicians introduced the separatrix and L-shaped bar as separators.
– Decimal fractions first appeared in a book by Abul-Hasan al-Uqlidisi in the 10th century.
– The Hindu-Arabic numeral system popularized by Al-Khwarizmi introduced decimal positional number system.
– Gerbert of Aurillac and Fibonacci used arcs and Pythagorean arcs as separators.
Decimal Separator in Different Countries and Languages
– In the United States, the full stop or period is used as the standard decimal separator.
– The interpunct or mid dot was preferred in British print, but the comma was chosen in France and Italy.
– The SI rejected the mid dot due to its use in multiplication notation.
– The decimal point was chosen in the United Kingdom during metrication.
– South Africa adopted the comma as its decimal separator.
– Ido, Esperanto, and Interlingua use the comma as the decimal separator.
– Interlingua has used the comma since 1951.
– Esperanto uses the comma as the decimal separator and non-breaking spaces for thousands.
– Ido uses commas for decimal separator and full stops for thousands.
– Volapük uses the comma as the decimal separator and middle dot as the thousands separator.
Decimal Separator in Computer Programming
– ALGOL programming language allowed different decimal separators.
– Most computer languages and data formats specify a dot as the decimal separator.
– C programming language permits a quote as the thousands separator.
– Java, Fortran, and CSS also use a dot as the decimal separator.
– Decimal separators in computer programming caused disputes between European and American delegates.
Digit Grouping and Other Numeral Systems
– Numbers with many digits can be divided into groups using delimiters like comma, dot, half-space, space, underscore, or apostrophe.
– Thin spaces as separators, instead of dots or commas, have been recommended by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures since 1948.
– The Indian numbering system groups digits differently, with sets of two digits after the hundreds place.
– Digit group separators can occur as part of the data or as a mask through which the data is displayed.
– Different languages and standards may have variations in digit grouping conventions. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal_separator
A decimal separator is a symbol used to separate the integer part from the fractional part of a number written in decimal form (e.g., "." in 12.45). Different countries officially designate different symbols for use as the separator. The choice of symbol also affects the choice of symbol for the thousands separator used in digit grouping.
1) Space, the internationally recommended thousands separator.
2) Period (or full stop), the thousands separator used in many non-English speaking countries.
3) Comma, the thousands separator used in most English-speaking countries.
This Conventions worldwide, Examples of use may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Use by region is inconsistent, inaccurate, and are poorly formatted. (March 2023) |
Any such symbol can be called a decimal mark, decimal marker, or decimal sign. Symbol-specific names are also used; decimal point and decimal comma refer to a dot (either baseline or middle) and comma respectively, when it is used as a decimal separator; these are the usual terms used in English, with the aforementioned generic terms reserved for abstract usage.
In many contexts, when a number is spoken, the function of the separator is assumed by the spoken name of the symbol: comma or point in most cases. In some specialized contexts, the word decimal is instead used for this purpose (such as in International Civil Aviation Organization-regulated air traffic control communications). In mathematics, the decimal separator is a type of radix point, a term that also applies to number systems with bases other than ten.
