Most popular programming languages – including Fortran, C/C++, Python, and JavaScript – use this "E" notation, which comes from Fortran and was present in the first version released for the IBM 704 in 1956. The E notation was already used by the developers of SHARE Operating System (SOS) for the IBM 709 in 1958. Later versions of Fortran (at least since FORTRAN IV as of 1961) also use "D" to signify double precision numbers in scientific notation, and newer Fortran compilers use "Q" to signify quadruple precision. The MATLAB programming language supports the use of either "E" or "D".
Most popular programming languages – including Fortran, C/C++ Python, and JavaScript – use this "E" notation, which comes from Fortran and was present in the first version released for the IBM 704 in 1956. The E notation was already used by the developers of SHARE Operating System (SOS) for the IBM 709 in 1958. Later versions of Fortran (at least since FORTRAN IV as of 1961) also use "D" to signify double precision numbers in scientific notation, and newer Fortran compilers use "Q" to signify quadruple precision. The MATLAB programming language supports the use of either "E" or "D".