precision
- To: mathgroup at christensen.cybernetics.net
- Subject: [mg445] precision
- From: "Ed Boss" <boss at wln.com>
- Date: Fri, 3 Feb 95 11:44:43 -1000
Jonathan Rich writes:
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Is there any way to specify, at the start of a session, or at the start of
a Mathematica script or program, that one would like MMA to use a given
precision (i.e. something other than $MachinePrecision) thruout the
calculations? It doesn't appear to me that "PrecisionGoal" is what I want
as that is an option for specific numerical functions. In other words,
what I want is something like "SetPrecision[]", but not for a specific
expression but rather a global default value which tells MMA to assume such a
precision for all expressions and numerical calculations, unless specified
otherwise. Then when
one typed "x=3.", x would automatically have whatever precision one had
globally set at the beginning of the session. I guess this would
correspond to use of C or Fortran compiler flags like "-r8" that
instruct the compiler that all variables are to be double precision
(for example). Is there a way of doing such a thing in mathematica?
Thanks for your help and advice.
Jonathan Rich
---------------------------
I believe waht you want to do is set the global variable $Post. From Nancy
Blachman's book, Mathematica: A Practical Approach, page 28:
In: nThirty[x_] := N[x,30]
In: nThirty[5/7]
Out: 0.71428571428571428571428571429
In: $Post = nThirty
Out: nThirty
In: Sqrt[3]
Out: 1.73205080756887729352744634151
In: Precision[%]
Out: 30.
To return to the default precesion
In: $Post =.
Regards,
Ed
Ed Boss .^ *
NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory / /
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