On Fri, 2 May 2014, John Ferrell wrote:

> At least in older systems:
> The MostSignifcantBit designates a negative number when it =3D=3D1.
> Think of it as mixing orange juice and potatoes.

No it's not :-)

You're getting confused between what is possible and what the language=20
designers decided would be easier for them to do.

What you are saying is similar to "it's not possible to add two 16 bit=20
numbers on a PIC16". Yes it is, it's just much harder than adding two 8=20
bit numbers. Likewise it is possible to compare a 16 bit signed number to=20
a 16 bit unsigned number. If the signed number is negative (has the top=20
bit set), it is always going to be less than the unsigned number. If the=20
unsigned number has the top bit set, it is always going to be greater than=
=20
the signed number. Comparing signed and unsigned is really not very hard=20
at all and in some cases it is very useful.

Regards
Sergio Masci
--=20
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