Re: Rounding??

[James Ball <sybex009 madnetter com>]

On Jun 12, 2001 -  5:38 PM Morten Welinder wrote:
>    Certainly but when you provide a mapping from one space (binary) to the
>    display space (decimal) is important that the display understands its
>    (numeric) context.  
>
> Users expect it, but it is not possible.
>
> An accountant will want "0.365" rounded to "0.36".  A mathematician
> will want "0.37".  Someone is not going to like the result.  The
> mathematician also wants "=sin(pi/4)-cos(pi/4)" to yield zero.  Don't
> count on it.

Couldn't you have a preferences sort of dialog that has an option like
"Round up/Round down)
Yield 0 from sine(pi/4)-cos(pi/4)

Something along those lines. Maybe this is what you are all getting at...
I think it definately has to be consistent, even if it is less efficient that
way. Users are going to have to be getting what they expect.
> Right now we are consistent in the best-approximation sense[*], I
> hope.  And no-one is happy, because -- as you say -- people generally
> do not think in binary.
>
> See the 0.62 release notes in your NEWS file for more information.
>
> Morten
>
>
>
> [*] The value of every subexpression is "rounded" to nearest valid
>     binary representable value.
>
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-James