[DGD] Re: Math kfuns

[Logic]

On Mon, 11 May 1998, Felix A. Croes wrote:
> "Most compilers" is not enough.  "Close enough" is not enough.
> Whenever I implement them, I will make sure that they will
> 1) be more accurate than can currently be expected on many platforms
> 2) produce the same results on all platforms.

The problem, of course, is that mathematical functions tend to be
optimized for the platform in question (usually in assembly, to eke out
maximal performace). While I'm not usually a fan of speed when it comes at
the cost of cross-platform reliability, there is a place for such things.

That being said, a built-in baseline that is guaranteed to work reliably
in a cross-platform manner would be good, with a package to replace it
with calls to the underlying platform if the administrator feels
comfortable with the sanity of the platform they're on.

-- 
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/  \   \ \/\  logic at logic.net                                                 \
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