Re: 3DLDF

[Frank Heckenbach]

Hans Aberg wrote:

> It clearly so that in some computer language paradigms, the word "real" is
> used instead of the mathematically correct term "float". C/C++, however, do
> it correctly.

Want to start a language war?

Well, I'm a mathematician and I haven't heard the term "float" (or a
German equivalent) used anywhere in mathematics except in computer
programs in C etc.

I suppose you refer to the fact that floating point numbers can't
represent all real numbers, but neither can the integer type of C
and many other languages represent all integers, etc.

For a high-level programmer it's often more convenient to think of
the "real" type as a reasonable approximation to real numbers than
to think about the implementation details. Of course, there are
caveats -- just as there are for integer (range overflow/warparound)
-- that are necessary to keep in mind in some cases, but not always.

Frank

-- 
Frank Heckenbach, address@hidden
http://fjf.gnu.de/
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