On 2/8/2022 1:35 AM, Gregory P. Smith wrote:
While we're at it are 64 bit floats required for either cPython or Python the language?
CPython: yes. we use a double. Python the language: no. (float is single precision on many micropython platforms as it saves precious ram and performance, plus microcontroller fpu hardware like an M4 is usually single precision 32bit)
Agreed. CPython should be specific, Python should be as vague as possible. Otherwise, we would prevent _by specification_ using Python as a scripting language for things where floats may not even be relevant. It's not even about hardware capabilities (unless you believe Python is only for running in a terminal, in which case we'll just have to disagree). It could be about an app using short Python snippets as a customisation language for some domain-specific task rather than inventing a brand new language for it. The more "it's-only-Python-if-it-has-X" restrictions we have, the less appealing we become. Cheers, Steve