Re: Lisp reader syntax and bootstrap

[Po Lu]

Paul Eggert <eggert@cs.ucla.edu> writes:

> Yes, though there are similar problems even for finite numbers, since
> they also behave differently on the VAX, sometimes
> significantly. E.g., VAX subtraction can underflow to zero via
> catastrophic cancellation, whereas IEEE subtraction cannot.

Subnormal numbers (or rather, the lack thereof) shouldn't pose a
portability problem for practical Lisp code, as they don't affect reader
syntax or cause errors to be signaled.