28.15 Signed Zeros

The sign of zero is significant, and important, because it records the creation of a value that is too small to represent, but came from either the negative axis, or from the positive axis. Such fine distinctions are essential for proper handling of branch cuts in complex arithmetic (see Complex Arithmetic).

The key point about signed zeros is that in comparisons, their sign does not matter: 0.0 == -0.0 must always evaluate to 1 (true). However, they are not the same number, and -0.0 in C code stands for a negative zero.