Floating Point Numbers
It is a simple, if sad, truth that floating point numbers are unreliable.
If you want accurate representation of decimal and fractional numbers you must
use a
specialist library. These specialist libraries internally use integers. Only
integers are accurate
in computing. The IEEE has long recognized that floating point numbers are
in-accurate.
Their standard takes this into account.
There is no point considering the source code for euphoria. It is a compiled
language and the
order of operations is set by the compiler. There is in fact no guarantee in
order of operations
in C. This is often stated by C gurus when some one questions the results of
floating point
operations.
The only solution is to use integers only. For an assignment we had to take an
order an
calculate the cost. The floating point calculations were wrong. The costs were
in dollars and
cents. As it is a fixed position decimal I represented the prices in cents. When
I dealt with it, I
dealt with it in cents. I out-putted it as dollars and cents. This meant it was
accurate and the
user was not confused by incorrect results or prices in cents.
-------------------------
Sincerely,
Mathew Hounsell
mat.hounsell at excite.com
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