How to represent the infinite ?

[Chris Barker]

Chris Barker wrote:
> whether
> this works is a function of the machine, compiler and library used to
> compile Python. I'm not sure how common it is, but if you want your code
> portable, it may not be reliabel on all machines, which is too bad,
> because IEEE 754 is pretty darn good standard.

After posting that, I went and read some more:

http://cch.loria.fr/documentation/IEEE754/wkahan/754story.html

A quote from that article:

"Programming languages new ( Java ) and old ( Fortran ), and their
compilers, still lack competent support for features of IEEE 754 so
painstakingly provided by practically all hardware nowadays. S.A.N.E.,
the Standard Apple Numerical Environment on old MC680x0-based Macs is
the main exception. Programmers seem unaware that IEEE 754 is a standard
for their programming environment, not just for hardware." 

Too bad. Python can't do anything that isn't supported by the compilers
it is built with.

Full disclosure: I took a Numerical Analysis course with Kahan when I
was at Berkeley. I understood about 1/10 of what he was trying to teach
us, but I did learn this: Floating point is hard!


-Chris

-- 
Christopher Barker, Ph.D.
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