Re: IEEE 754 compliance

[Prof J C Nash <nashjc ncf ca>]

There are some resources for testing by Nelson Beebe at
http://www.math.utah.edu/~beebe/software/ieee/timops.html  From what I 
understand, the main issues are handling of edge effects (underflow, 
overflow, divide by 0, etc.) where compilers may do some things 
different from the standard's prescription. There is, of course, an 
interaction here with hardware that may not provide ways to get at the 
bits (literally).

In my efforts to set up some Gnumeric test worksheets, I've tried to 
contact Beebe without success. He may have retired (I believe he is 
older than I, and I'm on the brink of retirement from teaching, but not 
from Gnumeric!) 

If there is interest, and in particular an example where IEEE754 may be 
important, I'll be happy to dig a bit. I was a corresponding (ie vote by 
mail) member of the IEEE 754 committee back in late 70s. Given the 
arcane detail, it will take a bit of review for me to get fully up to speed.


JN