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Re: Beware of adding 0.0

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg50212] Re: [mg50206] Beware of adding 0.0
  • From: stephen layland <layland at wolfram.com>
  • Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2004 03:04:13 -0400 (EDT)
  • References: <200408200858.EAA12526@smc.vnet.net>
  • Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

so spake paul [2004.08.20 @ 04:48]:
> In Mathematica 5.0, I get a very strange result when I add 0.0 to a number,
> why is this?  See below:
> 
> p = SetPrecision[314159265358979323, 25]
> q = SetPrecision[314159265358979323., 25]
> r = SetPrecision[314159265358979323.00000000000000000000, 25]
> s = SetPrecision[p + 0.0, 25]

0.0 has $MachinePrecision.  You can't expect p (with precision 25) + 0.0
(precision 15.9...) to have automatically have 25 digits of precision...


  In[5]:= Precision/@{p, 0.0}

  Out[5]= {25., MachinePrecision}

  In[6]:= Precision[p+0.0]

  Out[6]= MachinePrecision
  
The correct method should be:

  In[7]:= t = p + SetPrecision[0.0, 25];
          Precision[t]

  Out[8]= 25.

    -ste\/e
--
/*-----------------------------*\
|       stephen layland         |
|  Technical Support Engineer   |
|     layland at wolfram.com       |
\*-----------------------------*/


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