Introduction to 2’s Complement

Michael Burrell

July 12, 2019

What we know

I Integers (whole numbers) are stored in binary (1s and 0s)

Binary
0 000
1 001
2 010
3 011
.. ..
. .
7 111
What we know

I Integers (whole numbers) are stored in binary (1s and 0s)

Binary
0 000
1 001
2 010
3 011
.. ..
. .
7 111
I The number of bits dictates the maximum value
1 bit: 0–1 4 bits: 0–15
2 bits: 0–3 5 bits: 0–31
3 bits: 0–7 n bits: 0–(2n − 1)
What we know

I We know how to add 2 numbers!

0 0 1 1 3
+ 0 1 1 0 6
What we know

I We know how to add 2 numbers!

0 0 1 1 3
+ 0 1 1 0 6
= 1 0 0 1 9
What we don’t know

I We can represent positive integers (and 0)

I For any positive integer, we can represent it (given enough
bits)
I We can’t represent negatives yet
What we don’t know

I We can represent positive integers (and 0)

I For any positive integer, we can represent it (given enough
bits)
I We can’t represent negatives yet
I There are several conventions for representing negatives
I Sign-magnitude
I Bias
I 1’s complement (learning now!)
I 2’s complement (will learn in a couple minutes!)
I ...
I Before we get to 2’s complement, we first need to know 1’s
complement
Making a negative number in 1’s complement

0 0 1 1

Step 1: Start with a positive number (in this case, 0011 = 3)

Making a negative number in 1’s complement

0 0 1 1

Step 2: The leftmost bit is the sign bit. 0 means “positive” and 1
means “negative”
Making a negative number in 1’s complement

0 0 1 1

Step 3: To make it negative, flip every bit. “Flip” means change 0

to 1, and change 1 to 0.
Making a negative number in 1’s complement

1 0 1 1

Step 3: To make it negative, flip every bit. “Flip” means change 0

to 1, and change 1 to 0.
Making a negative number in 1’s complement

1 1 1 1

Step 3: To make it negative, flip every bit. “Flip” means change 0

to 1, and change 1 to 0.
Making a negative number in 1’s complement

1 1 0 1

Step 3: To make it negative, flip every bit. “Flip” means change 0

to 1, and change 1 to 0.
Making a negative number in 1’s complement

1 1 0 0

Step 3: To make it negative, flip every bit. “Flip” means change 0

to 1, and change 1 to 0.
Making a negative number in 1’s complement

1 1 0 0

We have now constructed -3. 1100 = -3.

1’s complement in 3 bits

Value
0 0 0 0
1 1 1 -0
0 0 1 1
1 1 0 -1
0 1 0 2
1 0 1 -2
0 1 1 3
1 0 0 -3
1’s complement in 3 bits

Value
0 0 0 0
1 1 1 -0
0 0 1 1
1 1 0 -1
0 1 0 2
1 0 1 -2
0 1 1 3
1 0 0 -3

I The range of positive numbers shrank when we added

negatives
I Before, with 3 bits, we could represent 0–7
I Now we can represent -3–3
1’s complement in 3 bits

Value
0 0 0 0
1 1 1 -0
0 0 1 1
1 1 0 -1
0 1 0 2
1 0 1 -2
0 1 1 3
1 0 0 -3

I The range of positive numbers shrank when we added

negatives
I Before, with 3 bits, we could represent 0–7
I Now we can represent -3–3
I What the heck is negative zero??
1’s complement

I It works!
I It is awkward in a couple ways:
I It has a representation for negative zero
I Making an electronic circuit to do addition and subtraction is
complex
1’s complement

I It works!
I It is awkward in a couple ways:
I It has a representation for negative zero
I Making an electronic circuit to do addition and subtraction is
complex
I But, it’s close to what we want. . .
2’s complement

I 2’s complement is a system that builds on 1’s complement

I It solves the two problems that 1’s complement had
Making a negative number in 2’s complement

0 0 1 1

Step 1: Start with a positive number (in this case, 0011 = 3)

Making a negative number in 2’s complement

1 1 0 0

Step 2: Compute the 1’s complement

Making a negative number in 2’s complement

1 1 0 0

Step 3: Add 1
Making a negative number in 2’s complement

1 1 0 1

Step 3: Add 1
Making a negative number in 2’s complement

1 1 0 1

That’s it! 1101 is 2’s complement for -3

2’s complement in 3 bits

Value
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1
1 1 1 -1
0 1 0 2
1 1 0 -2
0 1 1 3
1 1 0 -3
1 0 0 -4
2’s complement in 3 bits

Value
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1
1 1 1 -1
0 1 0 2
1 1 0 -2
0 1 1 3
1 1 0 -3
1 0 0 -4

I We no longer have a negative zero

I We gained an extra negative number (-4 does not have a
negative!)
I Our range is now -4–3 (from (−2n ) to (2n − 1) for n bits)
Addition

I 2’s complement has a really cool property with addition and

subtraction
I It works exactly the same way as unsigned (before we learned
about negatives) binary addition!
Example addition (8 + -5)

0 1 1 1 7
+ 0 1 0 1 5
=

We want to add 7 + (-5) to get an answer of 2. First we start with

7 and 5.
Example addition (8 + -5)

0 1 1 1 7
+ 0 1 0 1 5
=

We convert the 5 to -5 in 2’s complement.

Example addition (8 + -5)

0 1 1 1 7
+ 1 0 1 0 5
=

We convert the 5 to -5 in 2’s complement.

Example addition (8 + -5)

0 1 1 1 7
+ 1 0 1 1 -5
=

We convert the 5 to -5 in 2’s complement.

Example addition (8 + -5)

0 1 1 1 7
+ 1 0 1 1 -5
=

We perform regular binary addition.

Example addition (8 + -5)

0 1 1 1 7
+ 1 0 1 1 -5
= 0

We perform regular binary addition.

Example addition (8 + -5)

1 1

0 1 1 1 7
+ 1 0 1 1 -5
= 1 0

We perform regular binary addition.

Example addition (8 + -5)

1 1 1

0 1 1 1 7
+ 1 0 1 1 -5
= 0 1 0

We perform regular binary addition.

Example addition (8 + -5)

1 1 1 1

0 1 1 1 7
+ 1 0 1 1 -5
= 0 0 1 0 2

We perform regular binary addition.

Example addition (8 + -5)

1 1 1 1

0 1 1 1 7
+ 1 0 1 1 -5
= 0 0 1 0 2

Like magic, we have the correct answer of 2!

How to do 2’s complement

I To convert from positive to negative, flip all the bits and add
1!
I To convert from negative to positive, flip all the bits and add
1!
I “Flip all the bits” is also called “1’s complement”
I For n bits, we can represent all integers from −2n to 2n − 1
How to do 2’s complement

I To convert from positive to negative, flip all the bits and add
1!
I To convert from negative to positive, flip all the bits and add
1!
I “Flip all the bits” is also called “1’s complement”
I For n bits, we can represent all integers from −2n to 2n − 1
I Addition is very easy. Adding two positive numbers, two
negative numbers, one positive and one negative, etc., all
works the same!