[Python-Dev] FP vs. tutorial (original) (raw)

Mark Hammond MarkH@ActiveState.com
Tue, 22 May 2001 09:06:39 +1000

> + Happy to add text explaining the existence of surprises, and > providing a URL. Do the floating-point morons on Python-Dev > find this one comprehensible?:

Hey - I resemble that remark!

> http://www.lahey.com/float.htm

I quite liked the tone of this note. The Python-dev morons probably could make good sense of this, but only due to the relentless persistence of a certain timbot.

If not for Tim, I would have forgotten completely about binary floating point versus decimal floating point. IIRC, me and about 40 other guys were desperately trying to get the attention of the single CS female on the day that lecture was given. (Actually, that is a pretty safe bet - all lectures were spent that way :)

However, without a little additional background I doubt the masses would be able to get too far into this.

As Tim has said a few times, most people wont care - they just want it to work!

I was thinking more of immortalizing this one:

http://www.python.org/cgi-bin/moinmoin/RepresentationError

IMO, this is a little worse. There is less "background". Eg, in almost the first paragraph we see:

""" Rewriting 1 J --- ~= ---- 10 2**N """

And I went "huh? Where did j and N spring from?". Reading a bit further made it clear, but this document did seem a little impenetrable to floating point or maths newbies.

It seems to me that the RepresentationError document was written for people with a decent background in maths - exactly the sort of people who don't need such a document.

Just-my-0.020000002-cents-worth ly,

Mark.