Abstract: A method of storing values that involves splitting each value into a n-bit value and an overflow value, and storing, in a main table, the n-bit values in order of increasing magnitude of the values. For each overflow value, the position of the smallest n-bit value is stored in an overflow table. To retrieve a value, the position of the corresponding n-bit value is compared to the positions stored in the overflow value to determine the overflow value of the n-bit value. The actual value is then obtained from the n-bit value and its overflow value.