From: Paul F. D. <pau...@ho...> - 2000-02-08 18:03:22
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Before we all rattle on too long about precision, I'd like to point out that selecting a precision actually carries two consequences in the context of computer languages: 1. Expected: The number of digits of accuracy in the representation of a floating point number. 2. Unexpected: The range of numbers that can be represented by this type. Thus, to a scientist it is perfectly logical that if d is a double and f is a single, d * f has only single precision validity. Unfortunately in a computer if you hold this answer in a single, then it may fail if the contents of d include numbers outside the single range, even if f is 1.0. Thus the rules in C and Fortran that coercion is UP had to do as much with range as precision. |