IxiNumber

Finalized

IxiNumber is the data type used throughout the Ixian protocol to represent token amounts. It is a high-precision, fixed-point decimal number designed to handle large values without rounding errors.

Concept

An IxiNumber represents a value with 8 decimal places. Internally, the value is stored as a BigInteger that has been multiplied by 10^8.

  • Divisor: 100,000,000 (10^8)
  • Example: The value 1.23 IXI is represented by the raw integer 123,000,000. The value 150 IXI is represented by 15,000,000,000.

This approach allows all arithmetic to be performed on integers, avoiding the precision issues of floating-point numbers.

On-Wire Serialization Format

When serialized for network transmission, an IxiNumber is encoded as a length-prefixed byte array.

PartData TypeDescription
LengthIxiVarUIntThe length, in bytes, of the following Raw Amount data.
Raw Amountbyte[]The raw BigInteger amount, serialized using .NET's BigInteger.ToByteArray() method.

The Raw Amount serialization has specific properties that implementers must replicate:

  • The integer is represented in two's complement format.
  • The byte order is little-endian.
  • The most significant bit of the last byte indicates the sign (1 for negative, 0 for positive). A zero-byte (0x00) may be appended to ensure a positive number is not misinterpreted as negative.

Example

Encoding the value 1.5 IXI:

  1. Raw Integer: 1.5 * 10^8 = 150,000,000
  2. Hex Representation: 150,000,000 is 0x08F0D180.
  3. Little-Endian Bytes: The bytes for 0x08F0D180 in little-endian order are 80 D1 F0 08.
  4. Length: The byte array has a length of 4. As an IxiVarUInt, this is 04.
  5. Final Serialized Form: 04 80 D1 F0 08

IxiBytes (Length-Prefixed Byte Array)

IxiVarInt Encoding