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IEEE float co-processors

To: Richard Fateman <fateman@dali.berkeley.edu>
Subject: IEEE float co-processors
From: David A. Moon <Moon@SCRC-STONY-BROOK.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 86 13:48 EST
Cc: common-lisp@SU-AI.ARPA
In-reply-to: <8601280708.AA04790@dali.berkeley.edu>

Note that on page 16 of the Common Lisp manual, the language is carefully
defined not to require any particular floating-point format or arithmetic.
For the same reasons that the language does not require adherence to the
IEEE floating-point standard (or any other), I think it makes sense for
the language not to require any particular precision for intermediate
results.  Defining floating point more precisely would limit portability
to different pieces of hardware, or else would limit efficiency, and if
efficiency is not a concern, why use floating point at all?

References:
- IEEE float co-processors
  - From: fateman@dali.berkeley.edu (Richard Fateman)

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