Re: [Numpy-discussion] Re: numpy, overflow, inf, ieee, and rich comparison

[Konrad H. <hi...@cn...>]

> Are people doing the kind of numeric programming with "complex
> algorithms" using Python that Konrad refers to? More importantly, how
> many people?

At least one: me.

> >  Guido thinks that 2/3 returning 0 was a design mistake,
> > but not that math.sqrt(-1) raising an exception is a mistake.  Most Python
> > users won't know what to do with a complex number, so it's "an error" to
> > them.
>
> Guido's philosophy is clearly that Python defaults should be geared to
> "Most Python users". I agree, and as I wrote in an earlier post, the

It's difficult to say what "most Python users" want; it's not a static
community. I'd say the basic principle is "no bad surprises".  2/3 ==
0 is a bad surprise for anyone who knows elementary math but is not
familiar with certain programming languages, especially since the
program goes on silently with a "wrong" intermediate result.

> Maybe we can have true 754 compliance in Py3k, and we can all be happy!!

Py3k forever!

Konrad.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Konrad Hinsen                            | E-Mail: hi...@cn...
Centre de Biophysique Moleculaire (CNRS) | Tel.: +33-2.38.25.56.24
Rue Charles Sadron                       | Fax:  +33-2.38.63.15.17
45071 Orleans Cedex 2                    | Deutsch/Esperanto/English/
France                                   | Nederlands/Francais
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------