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Re: The Inf type
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From:
Jon Lang
Date:
June 2, 2008 11:50
Subject:
Re: The Inf type
TSa wrote:
> John M. Dlugosz wrote:
>> The sqrt(2) should be a Num of 1.414213562373 with the precision of the
>> native floating-point that runs at full speed on the platform.
>
> That makes the Num type an Int with non-uniform spacing. E.g. there
> are Nums where $x++ == $x. And the -Inf and +Inf were better called
> Min and Max respectively. IOW, the whole type based aproach to Inf
> is reduced to mere notational convenience.
Please give an example value for a Num where $x++ == $x. Other than
Inf, of course.
As well, I can easily buy into the idea that +Inf _is_ conceptually
equivalent to Max, in that '$x before +Inf' will be true for all
non-Inf values of $x that are Nums. Likewise, -Inf is conceptually
equivalent to Min in the same way. But just because they're
conceptually equivalent, that doesn't mean that they're better off
renamed.
If you intend to come up with a more encompassing definition of Inf,
please do so in a way that preserves the above behavior when you apply
that definition to Num.
--
Jonathan "Dataweaver" Lang
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