# decimal --- Decimal fixed-point and floating-point arithmetic — Decimal FAQ

> Q: It is cumbersome to type decimal.Decimal('1234.5'). Is there a way to minimize typing when using the interactive interpreter? A: Some users abbreviate the constructor to just a single letter >>> D = decimal.Decimal >>> D('1.23') + D('3.45') Decimal('4.68') Q: In a fixed-point application with two

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Q: It is cumbersome to type decimal.Decimal('1234.5'). Is there a way to minimize typing when using the interactive interpreter?

A: Some users abbreviate the constructor to just a single letter

&gt;&gt;&gt; D = decimal.Decimal &gt;&gt;&gt; D('1.23') + D('3.45') Decimal('4.68')

Q: In a fixed-point application with two decimal places, some inputs have many places and need to be rounded. Others are not supposed to have excess digits and need to be validated. What methods should be used?

A: The ~Decimal.quantize method rounds to a fixed number of decimal places. If the Inexact trap is set, it is also useful for validation

&gt;&gt;&gt; TWOPLACES = Decimal(10) -2 # same as Decimal('0.01')

&gt;&gt;&gt; # Round to two places &gt;&gt;&gt; Decimal('3.214').quantize(TWOPLACES) Decimal('3.21')

&gt;&gt;&gt; # Validate that a number does not exceed two places &gt;&gt;&gt; Decimal('3.21').quantize(TWOPLACES, context=Context(traps=[Inexact])) Decimal('3.21')

&gt;&gt;&gt; Decimal('3.214').quantize(TWOPLACES, context=Context(traps=[Inexact])) Traceback (most recent call last): ... Inexact: None

Q: Once I have valid two place inputs, how do I maintain that invariant throughout an application?

A: Some operations like addition, subtraction, and multiplication by an integer will automatically preserve fixed point. Others operations, like division and non-integer multiplication, will change the number of decimal places and need to be followed-up with a ~Decimal.quantize step

In developing fixed-point applications, it is convenient to define functions to handle the ~Decimal.quantize step

Q: There are many ways to express the same value. The numbers 200, 200.000, 2E2, and .02E+4 all have the same value at various precisions. Is there a way to transform them to a single recognizable canonical value?

A: The ~Decimal.normalize method maps all equivalent values to a single representative

&gt;&gt;&gt; values = map(Decimal, '200 200.000 2E2 .02E+4'.split()) &gt;&gt;&gt; [v.normalize() for v in values] [Decimal('2E+2'), Decimal('2E+2'), Decimal('2E+2'), Decimal('2E+2')]

Q: When does rounding occur in a computation? …

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