If the programmer wants to round the number, this can be implemented using the remainder (see problems at the end of Chapter 5).
This means that in MIPS integer arithmetic when the quotient is taken from the low register the results will be truncated. In MIPS, when integer division is done, the lo register will contain the quotient, and the hi register will contain the remainder. In this equation, the value 5 is called the divisor, the 17 is the dividend, 3 is the quotient, and 2 is the remainder. The result of 17 divided by 5 would be the following: Remember how division was done when it was introduced to you in elementary school. To understand division, we will again begin with a base 10 example. The reader is thus asked to just believe that two registers are needed, and that MIPS will again use the registers hi and lo.
The reason for this has to do with how the hardware calculates the result, and is harder to explain without considering the hardware used, which is beyond the scope of this textbook. Division, like multiplication requires two registers to produce an answer.
