On 2006-06-15, Nick Maclaren <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> Grant Edwards <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>|>
>|> I assume the "you" in that sentence refers to the IEEE FP
>|> standards group. I just try to follow the standard, but I have
>|> found that the behavior required by the IEEE standard is
>|> generally what works best for my applications.
>
> Well, it could be, but actually it was a reference to the
> sentence "This makes sense since such is the limit of division
> by a quantity that goes to zero."
That sentence was written by the IEEE FP standards committee
explaining why they chose the behavior they did.
> The point here is that +infinity is the correct answer when the zero is
> known to be a positive infinitesimal, just as -infinity is when it is
> known to be a negative one. NaN is the only numerically respectable
> result if the sign is not known, or it might be a true zero.
OK, you're right. I still prefer that Python follow the
standard they everything else does. Part of what I use Python
for is to simulate devices that obey the IEEE 754 floating
point standards. I need Python to follow the standard.
--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Yow! Now we can
at become alcoholics!
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