Guest Editors’ Introduction: Special Sectionon Computer Arithmetic

The articles in this special issue focus on current trends and developments in the field of computer arithmetic. This is a field that encompasses the definition and standardization of arithmetic system for computers. The field also deals with issues of hardware and software implementations and their subsequent testing and verification. Many practitioners of the field also focus on the art and science of using computer arithmetic to carry out scientific and engineering computations. Computer arithmetic is therefore an interdisciplinary field that draws upon mathematics, computer science and electrical engineering. Advances in this field span from being highly theoretical (for instance, new exotic number systems) to being highly practical (for instance, new floating-point units for microprocessors).