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Unum Type 3
Unums (''universal numbers'') are a family of formats and arithmetic, similar to floating point, proposed by John L. Gustafson in 2015. They are designed as an alternative to the ubiquitous IEEE 754 floating-point standard. The latest version (known as posits) can be used as a drop-in replacement for programs that do not depend on specific features of IEEE 754. Type I Unum The first version of unums, formally known as Type I unum, was introduced in Gustafson's book ''The End of Error'' as a superset of the IEEE-754 floating-point format. The defining features of the Type I unum format are: * a variable-width storage format for both the significand and exponent, and * a ''u-bit'', which determines whether the unum corresponds to an exact number (''u'' = 0), or an interval between consecutive exact unums (''u'' = 1). In this way, the unums cover the entire extended real number line ˆ’∞,+∞ For computation with the format, Gustafson proposed using inte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Floating-point Arithmetic
In computing, floating-point arithmetic (FP) is arithmetic that represents real numbers approximately, using an integer with a fixed precision, called the significand, scaled by an integer exponent of a fixed base. For example, 12.345 can be represented as a base-ten floating-point number: 12.345 = \underbrace_\text \times \underbrace_\text\!\!\!\!\!\!^ In practice, most floating-point systems use base two, though base ten (decimal floating point) is also common. The term ''floating point'' refers to the fact that the number's radix point can "float" anywhere to the left, right, or between the significant digits of the number. This position is indicated by the exponent, so floating point can be considered a form of scientific notation. A floating-point system can be used to represent, with a fixed number of digits, numbers of very different orders of magnitude — such as the number of meters between galaxies or between protons in an atom. For this reason, floating-poin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
