--- title: "Numbers Held Inexactly on the ZX81 (Part 1)" type: "article" slug: "numbers-held-inexactly-on-the-zx81-part-1" url: "http://localhost/article/numbers-held-inexactly-on-the-zx81-part-1/" markdown_url: "http://localhost/article/numbers-held-inexactly-on-the-zx81-part-1.md" published_at: "2026-03-13T00:40:24+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-13T00:40:25+00:00" featured_image: url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/20230809-041332.jpg" excerpt: "First part of a series examining floating-point representation errors in the ZX81 8K ROM. Focuses on integer powers of 2 and how the ZX81 stores them, with programs to examine raw floating-point bytes and demonstrate inaccuracies at specific powers (13, 26, 27, 31, 52-54, 61, 62, etc.)." category: - name: "Syntax" slug: "syntax" taxonomy: "category" url: "http://localhost/category/periodicals/syntax/" post_tag: - name: "BASIC (programming language)" slug: "basic-programming-language" taxonomy: "post_tag" url: "http://localhost/tag/basic-programming-language/" - name: "TS 1000" slug: "ts1000" taxonomy: "post_tag" url: "http://localhost/tag/ts1000/" - name: "Type-in program" slug: "type-in-program" taxonomy: "post_tag" url: "http://localhost/tag/type-in-program/" model: - name: "Timex/Sinclair 1000" slug: "ts-1000" taxonomy: "model" url: "http://localhost/model/ts-1000/" indiv: - name: "Frank O'Hara" slug: "frank-ohara" taxonomy: "indiv" url: "http://localhost/indiv/frank-ohara/" publication_r: id: 10246 title: "Syntax" type: "periodical" url: "http://localhost/periodical/syntax/" authors_r: - name: "Frank O'Hara" slug: "frank-ohara" taxonomy: "indiv" url: "http://localhost/indiv/frank-ohara/" volume: "3" issue: "3" issues_articles: - id: 52476 title: "Syntax/Syntax ZX80 v3 n3" type: "issue" url: "http://localhost/issue/syntax-syntax-zx80-v3-n3/" pages: "6" pubdate: "March 1982" archive_link: false --- # Numbers Held Inexactly on the ZX81 (Part 1) First part of a series examining floating-point representation errors in the ZX81 8K ROM. Focuses on integer powers of 2 and how the ZX81 stores them, with programs to examine raw floating-point bytes and demonstrate inaccuracies at specific powers (13, 26, 27, 31, 52-54, 61, 62, etc.).