What is "positional notation"

n. A notation for numbers in which the value of a digit depends on its position in the string, examples of which include the (l/en: decimal system) and the (l/en: binary system)

n. a numeration system in which a real number is represented by an ordered set of characters where the value of a character depends on its position [syn: positional representation system]

Positional notation or place-value notation is a method of representing or encoding numbers. Positional notation is distinguished from other notations (such as Roman numerals) for its use of the same symbol for the different orders of magnitude (for example, the "ones place", "tens place", "hundreds place"). This greatly simplified arithmetic, leading to the rapid spread of the notation across the world.

With the use of a radix point (decimal point in base-10), the notation can be extended to include fractions and the numeric expansions of real numbers.

The Babylonian numeral system, base-60, was the first positional system developed, and is still used today to count time and angles. The Hindu–Arabic numeral system, base-10, is the most commonly used system in the world today for most calculations.