The decimal system was invented by Hindu mathematicians in India between the first and sixth centuries A.D. This system is sometimes also called the Hindu-Arabic numeral system because it was first introduced to Europeans by Arabs, who had acquired the system from the Hindus earlier.
The decimal system has 10 as its base, and is sometimes known as a base-10 system. The system incorporates whole numbers and decimal fractions. Whole numbers appear before the period, and fractions appear as decimal digits after it. The position of every decimal digit is determined by the power to which the denominator, 10, is raised. For example, 6/10 and 6/100 are represented as 0.6 and 0.06 because 10 is raised to the power 1 and 2, respectively. The power corresponds with decimal position.
