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From: robert@gitpyr.UUCP (Robert Viduya)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Re: derived types
Message-ID: <53@gitpyr.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 24-Jan-85 12:23:24 EST
Article-I.D.: gitpyr.53
Posted: Thu Jan 24 12:23:24 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 26-Jan-85 06:43:54 EST
References: <7479@brl-tgr.ARPA> <37@gitpyr.UUCP> <6873@watdaisy.UUCP>
Organization: Georgia Tech, Atlanta
Lines: 27

> > If I were to adapt C to the 170 series, I would set the following types:
> > 
> >       ...
> > 	float			60-bits
> > 	double			60-bits
> > -- 
> > Robert Viduya
> 
> Don't you dare.  Double doesn't have to be exactly twice a float, but there
> has to be enough to assist numerical calculations in certain kinds of error
> determinations.
> 

The CDC 170 series doesn't support reals larger than 60-bits in the hardware.
It can be done, but only through software.  C is defined to calculate all
real numbers as doubles.  This means that there'll be a lot of wasted time
spent doing something the machine can't do with it's native instruction set.

				robert
-- 
Robert Viduya
    Office of Computing Services
    Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA 30332
    Phone:  (404) 894-4669

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