Re: min / max and empty intervals
> Date: 09 Jun 2011 09:51:10 +0100
> From: "N.M. Maclaren" <nmm1@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: rbk@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Cc: Dan Zuras Intervals <intervals08@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, rbk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, stds-1788@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: min / max and empty intervals
>
> On Jun 9 2011, Ralph Baker Kearfott wrote:
> >On 6/8/2011 9:12 PM, Dan Zuras Intervals wrote:
> >>
> >> =09Makes perfect sense. I hadn't thought about it
> >> =09well enough to figure that out. That's what
> >> =09comes of having no experience in this stuff. - Dan
> >
> >Ahhh, but your experience in other matters complements experience
> >of others in the group, and is very welcome.
That is very kind of you, Ralph.
>
> Nobody knows everything. On this matter, Missing is not quite the
> same as Unknown, because it is treated differently in reductions
> and in fill-in interpolations. Outside those, it is the same.
>
> This whole matter is thoroughly confusing :-(
>
>
> Regards,
> Nick Maclaren.
Yes, Nick, it is confusing.
And I know you have lived in both worlds & dealt with these
problems.
754 is infamous for conflating lots of different things under
the name NaN.
Alas, some 3 decades of floating-point experience mostly with
754 has led me to ignore the differences to my current
detriment.
Still, I am glad that 1788 has things like entire & empty to
stand in for some of these things.
NaNs have been a pain in the ass for my entire career.
754 can't do without them & living WITH them is no picnic.
If our decorations allow us to represent other interesting
things without using anything that looks like an NaI, I would
be happy with them.
Indeed, if it begins to look like we NEED an NaI, my first
thought would be: Let's make another decoration first.
You know, that reminds me of something.
This is totally off the subject but, Nate, you once argued for
the need for non-standard intervals for your graphics work.
And I know other have discussed them for solving equations.
Have you figured something else out or is this just a subject
for some other day?
I remember we once kicked arouond a decoration called
'non-standard'.
Do we still need that?
Or is this a subject better discussed after we have settled
much of the other decoration issues?
Please feel free to ignore the question if it is.
It just came up while I was thinking about Nick's observation.
Yours,
Dan