A method for providing a 16-bit floating point data representation where the 16-bit floating point data representation may be operated upon by a microprocessors native floating point instruction set. The method contemplates the use a variety of techniques for converting the 16-bit floating point number into a representative native floating point value. Thereafter, the native microprocessor floating point instruction set may perform operations upon the converted data. Upon completion, the native floating point data representation may be converted back into the 16-bit floating point value.