On Feb 10, 1:19 pm, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > For me Python is useful to write code that gives *correct* results, > allowing me to write it in a short & simple way, with quick debugging > cycles (and for other purposes, like to write dynamic code, to use it > as glue language to use libraries, to create quick GUIs, as scripting > for data munging, etc). When I need more speed I use the D language, > or Psyco, or C, etc. > > Python 2.5 has string, unicode, long, int, float, and Decimal types. > Python 3.0 reduces them to string (+ the byte type) int, float, and > Decimal. So why not adopt the Decimal (IEEE 854) as the standard > "float" for Python (if speed is a concern, than a mfloat type may be > introduced, it's a "machine float", it's essentially the "float" of > Python 2.5, operations between a float and a mfloat give a mfloat)? It > can reduce some FP bugs, and avoid those 5.89 + 3.99 = > 9.879999999999999 bugs that puzzle newbies, that are okay in a very > fast low-level language like C++, but probably unfit for a high-level > one :-)
(1) Because, although speed may not be the primary focus of Python, it's still relevant. And float has a HUGE speed advantage over Decimal. (2) Because decimal arithmetic isn't a panacea for floating-point errors. I have a decimal calculator at hand, and while it gives the correct result for 5.89 + 3.99, it gives slightly incorrect results for 1/3*3 and sqrt(3)**2. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
