Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!lavaca.uh.edu!uhnix1!sugar!ficc!peter From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: F.P. vs. arbitrary-precision Message-ID: Date: 9 Sep 90 12:44:24 GMT References: <3755@osc.COM> <4513@taux01.nsc.com> <119244@linus.mitre.org> <6837.26e7ee92@vax1.tcd.ie> Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Organization: Xenix Support, FICC Lines: 11 In article <6837.26e7ee92@vax1.tcd.ie> rwallace@vax1.tcd.ie writes: > First, why do you need 32 x 32 -> 64? It sure makes arbitrary precision a whole lot easier. > why C has int x int -> int not int x int -> long. Which is irritating to the folks who need that operation, because it forces them to do a full 32x32 multiply instead of a 16x16->32. Which is why Forth has 16x16->32 built in. -- Peter da Silva. `-_-' +1 713 274 5180. 'U` peter@ferranti.com