Re: M0008.02_Exception_Handling NO
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I vote NO on Motion 8.02 on the following grounds:
Decorations as proposed by Motion 8.02 have the potential to greatly
enhance the usefulness of interval arithmetic libraries. I have no doubt
about that.
On the other hand, I believe that the standardization process should
sanction techniques and practices that stood the test of time. I am not
aware of any interval arithmetic library that already implements such
decorated intervals. What if, once the standard is passed, decorations
are never used because the way they were defined makes them inconvenient
to use? Are we sure that the decorations defined are the only ones of
importance to all users of interval arithmetic? Will the propagation
rules chosen prove sound for all applications of interval arithmetic?
As I understand it, nobody has any experience whatsoever with
programming with decorated intervals. With work, we may be able to
introduce in the standard a carefully chosen set of decorations with
sound propagation rules. Are we sure all of them will be worth the
trouble *in practice*?
Moreover, the whole machinery of decorations adds complexity to the
standard and raises the bar for potential implementors.
Besides, this is not as if introducing and standardizing decorations was
a necessity now: as said previously on the list, interval arithmetic
libraries have already proved their power and usefulness. And they have
done so without decorations being widely available.
More broadly, I am in favor of standardizing only what is already known
to work and to be useful. Let us add powerful additions like decorations
in the next version of the standard, once the first simple one is widely
accepted and implemented.
FG.
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Frédéric Goualard LINA - UMR CNRS 6241
Tel.: +33 2 51 12 58 38 Univ. of Nantes - Ecole des Mines de Nantes
Fax.: +33 2 51 12 58 12 2, rue de la Houssinière - BP 92208
http://goualard.frederic.free.fr/ F-44322 NANTES CEDEX 3
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