Here's a way to parse a decimal (eg 3.25) into an integer and exponent:
<?
if (preg_match("/^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$/",$input)){
//Input is a base-10 decimal. Multiply as necessary to remove the decimal
//point. Convert that to a gmp_resource, then decrement the exponent
//to compensate.
$pieces=explode(".", $input); //Split at the d.p.
$input="$pieces[0]$pieces[1]"; //Remove the decimal point.
$input=ltrim($input,'0');
//Remove any leading zeros, or gmp_init will parse the number as octal.
if ($input==''){ //Deal with "0.0" which would otherwise be ''.
$input=0;
}
$integer=gmp_init($input);
$ns_exponent=-strlen($pieces[1]);
//exponent = (-) the number of characters after the decimal point.
}
?>