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From: smize@news.imagin.net (Samuel Mize)
Subject: Re: precise floats
Date: 1998/08/06
Message-ID: <6qcoh0$3ump$1@prime.imagin.net>#1/1
X-Deja-AN: 378574382
References: <dewar.902417129@merv>
Organization: ImagiNet Communications Ltd, Arlington, Texas
Reply-To: smize@imagin.net (Samuel Mize)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Date: 1998-08-06T00:00:00+00:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

In article <dewar.902417129@merv>, Robert Dewar <dewar@merv.cs.nyu.edu> wrote:
>C Green said
>      type my_very_precise_type is digits <N>;
>  
>  where <N> is the number of digits of precision you need.  Be aware, however,
>  that few compilers support float types of precision greater than 15 digits.
>>>
>
>Surely better advice is
>
>     type my_very_precise_type is System.Max_Digits;

Assuming you want the greatest possible accuracy, perhaps best would be

  type my_very_precise_type is System.Max_Digits;

  subtype Fail_If_Not_Precise_Enough
    is my_very_precise_type digits <N>;

So your variables will have the max precision available, and the
compiler will warn you if it can't give you at least N digits.

Best,
Sam Mize

-- 
Samuel Mize -- smize@imagin.net (home email) -- Team Ada
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