Interval-based approach to lexicographic
            representation and compression of numeric data

                            Naphtali Rishe

                      School of Computer Science
                  Florida International University -
               The State University of Florida at Miami
                   University Park, Miami, FL 33199

Abstract. This paper proposes a new  method  of  encoding  numbers  by
variable-length byte-strings.  The primary property of the encoding is
that the lexicographic comparison of the encoded  numbers  corresponds
correctly  to  the  order of the real numbers.  The encoding is space-
efficient.   Further,  unlike  the  fixed-length  representations   of
numbers  (fixed-point, floating-point, etc.,)  the encoded numbers are
not limited in their magnitude or  the  number  of  their  significant
digits.   The  paper  also  elaborates the application of the encoding
method to the storage of numeric  data  in  databases.