Re: OT: definition of "significant figures"

[tmoran@acm.org]

> Significant figures = Log10 (mean / standard deviation) + C
>
> I think people also add in the (small) constant, for
> good measure, depending on how they feel about the data distribution.
   I've posted at
home.comcast.net/~tommoran4/sigfig.zip
a package to print the average of a set of measurements to the "right"
number of significant figures, and to get the error implied by the
figures in a value read in.  I used
  Sigfig_Count := Integer(- Long_Float'Floor(Log(Sd / abs (Avg), 10.0)));
rather than rounding the log.  I'm not sure I always agree with the
result, but it seems within a quibble of right.  The routine also seems
excessively long for what it does, but a better approach isn't obvious.