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Re: Why (IMO) you should vote Yes to Motion 14.02



> From: "Corliss, George" <george.corliss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: Dan Zuras Intervals <intervals08@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, P1788
> 	<stds-1788@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> CC: "Corliss, George" <george.corliss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Nate Hayes
> 	<nh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: Why (IMO) you should vote Yes to Motion 14.02
> Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:20:12 +0000
> 
> Dan,
> 
> VERY interesting.  What you outline certainly is closer to
> the standard I think I'd like to see, if we can develop such.
> 
> On Jun 30, 2010, at 2:38 AM, Dan Zuras Intervals wrote:
> 
> >> From: "Nate Hayes" <nh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >> To: "Dan Zuras Intervals" <intervals08@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> >> 	"Christian Keil" <c.keil@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >> Cc: <stds-1788@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >> Subject: Re: Why (IMO) you should vote Yes to Motion 14.02
> >> Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:49:11 -0500
> >>
> >> Dan Zuras wrote:
> >>>
> >>> . . .
> >>>
> >
> > 	Let each interval datatype always be associated with a
> > 	floating-point datatype.  Fixed precision, arbitrary
> > 	precision, binary, decimal, I don't care.  Whatever you
> > 	have lying around in your language.  So we will call one
> > 	interval datatype a Binary64 interval type because we can
> > 	exactly extract bounds to Binary64.  We will call another
> > 	a Decimal3000 interval type because we can exactly extract
> > 	bounds to a 3000 digit decimal datatype.  Whatever.
> 
> Would we want to specify a few floating-point datatypes
> to promote reproducibility?
> 
> >
> > . . .
> >
> 
> Dr. George F. Corliss

	We could.

	And from a strictly pedantic standards point of view,
	perhaps we should.

	But as a practical matter, reproducibility will only
	be possible among machines that support the same
	floating-point type, whatever that is.  Therefore,
	we need not say anything about those types to get
	reproducibility.

	And, to be even more practical, pretty much any system
	that sports a floating-point datatype that has a
	representation of infinity within it is either a 754
	system, Java, an MPFR system, or more than one of
	those at the same time.

	Reproducibility falls out from inbreeding. :-)


				Dan