Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!rutgers!princeton!allegra!alice!ark
From: ark@alice.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: \"Infinite\" precision
Message-ID: <6648@alice.uUCp>
Date: Wed, 18-Feb-87 23:59:53 EST
Article-I.D.: alice.6648
Posted: Wed Feb 18 23:59:53 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Feb-87 07:23:56 EST
References: <4521@brl-adm.ARPA>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Liberty Corner NJ
Lines: 10

In article <4521@brl-adm.ARPA>, TVR%CCRMA-F4@SAIL.Stanford.EDU writes:
>     In Algol 68 there is a provision for infinite precision arithmetic
>     (theoretically anyway--I don't know if anyone ever implemented such
>     a compiler).  Each time one prepends the word "long" to a variable
>     declaration, the compiler doubles the number of bits reserved.  (Or 
>     perhaps adds a constant factor--I forget.)

Nope.  Each length is required to be no shorter than the previous one,
but the implementation is allowed to stop lengthening at some point.
That point is defined by a built-in variable called intlengths.