Decimal

Fixed-precision decimal values for financial and high-precision computations

A Decimal in Internet Object represents fixed-precision decimal values designed for applications that require exact numeric calculations, especially financial computations where floating-point precision issues could lead to significant errors. Decimal is a scalar primitive that stores exact numeric values with a defined precision and scale.

Unlike standard floating-point numbers (which may suffer from approximation issues), Decimal values maintain exact precision throughout arithmetic operations, ensuring accurate and predictable results.

Syntax

A Decimal value is expressed as a number with the m suffix:

decimal = decimalValue | scientificDecimal

decimalValue = ["-" | "+"] digit+ ["." digit+] "m"
scientificDecimal = decimalValue ("e" | "E") ["-" | "+"] digit+

digit = "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9"

Structural Characters

Symbol	Name	Unicode	Description
m	Decimal Suffix	U+006D	Identifies value as Decimal
0-9	Digits	Multiple	Standard decimal digits
.	Decimal Point	U+002E	Separates integer and fraction
-	Minus Sign	U+002D	Indicates negative numbers
e/E	Exponent	Multiple	Scientific notation exponent

Valid Forms

Basic Decimal Values

123.45m              # Fractional decimal
123m                 # Integer decimal
0.001m               # Leading zeros
-789.01m             # Negative decimal

Scientific Notation

1.23e2m              # Equivalent to 123m
1.23e-2m             # Equivalent to 0.0123m
5e3m                 # Equivalent to 5000m

Optional Behaviors

Fixed-Precision Arithmetic

Decimal values maintain their precision throughout operations:

0.1m + 0.2m          # 0.3m (exact representation)
# Compare with floating-point: 0.1 + 0.2 ≈ 0.30000000000000004

Precision and Scale

Each Decimal value is defined by:

• Precision: Total number of significant digits

• Scale: Number of digits after the decimal point

123.45m              # Precision: 5, Scale: 2
0.000123m            # Precision: 6, Scale: 6

Empty Representation

Zero as a decimal:

0m                   # Zero decimal
0.0m                 # Zero with scale

Invalid Forms

123.45               # ❌ Missing 'm' suffix (should be 123.45m)
123.45mm             # ❌ Multiple suffixes not allowed (should be 123.45m)
m123.45              # ❌ Suffix must be at the end (should be 123.45m)
.45m                 # ❌ Must have leading digit (should be 0.45m)
123.m                # ❌ Must have trailing digit if decimal point used (should be 123.0m or 123m)

Preservation of Structure

Internet Object preserves:

• Exact decimal precision and scale

• The chosen representation form (standard vs scientific notation)

• Syntactic fidelity (as written, except that an explicit plus sign is not preserved)

However, it does not interpret:

• Rounding behavior for operations

• Domain-specific precision requirements

• Currency or unit semantics

Such semantics are the responsibility of the schema layer, validators, or application logic.

See Also

• Number Types Overview - Launcher for all number types and formats

• Number - For standard floating-point numbers

• BigInt - For arbitrary-precision integers

• Values