AI engineering glossary · Computing foundations
What is two's complement?
Two's complement: The standard way computers store signed integers in binary: a negative number is formed by inverting all bits of its positive value and adding one. It lets the same addition circuit handle both positive and negative numbers.
Two's complement: an example
In 8 bits, 5 is 00000101 and -5 is 11111011, and adding them gives zero after dropping the overflow.
Related terms
More Computing foundations terms
Where you learn it
Two's complement is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.