float("nan") in set or as key

[Carl Banks]

On Wednesday, June 1, 2011 10:17:54 AM UTC-7, OKB (not okblacke) wrote:
> Carl Banks wrote:
> 
> > On Tuesday, May 31, 2011 8:57:57 PM UTC-7, Chris Angelico wrote:
> >> On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 1:30 PM, Carl Banks  wrote:
> > Python has several non-integer number types in the standard
> > library.  The one we are talking about is called float.  If the
> > type we were talking about had instead been called real, then your
> > question might make some sense.  But the fact that it's called
> > float really does imply that that underlying representation is
> > floating point. 
> 
>     	That's true, but that's sort of putting the cart before the horse.

Not really.  The (original) question Chris Angelico was asking was, "Is it an implementation detail that Python's non-integer type is represented as an IEEE floating-point?"  Which the above is the appropriate answer to.

> In response to that, one can just ask: why is this type called "float"? 

Which is a different question; not the question I was answering, and not one I care to discuss.
 

Carl Banks