Interpretation

Strings that are valid according to the lexical definition in §3.17.5.3 shall be interpreted as values in the value space as follows:

1. The mantissa shall be interpreted as a real number expressed in base 10

2. The exponent shall be interpreted as an integer expressed in base 10

3. The raw value for a numerical expression shall be interpreted asmantissa x 10exponent

4. If the raw value is larger than the largest value in the value space (2^1023 - 1, by default), or smaller than the smallest value in the value space (- 2^1023 + 1, by default), then a consuming application shall treat this as equivalent to the error value #NUM! (§3.17.3). Otherwise the value in the value space that is closest to the raw value is chosen as the interpretation. In the case that two values are equally close, the one with the smaller absolute value is chosen.