Article #15607: TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IEEE FLOATING-POINT TYPES

 Technical Notes Database

TN607D.txt   TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IEEE FLOATING-POINT TYPES
Category   :Pascal
Platform    :All
Product    :Turbo Pascal  5.0 5.5

Description:
Q. What is the best approach to taking advantage of the new IEEE
   floating-point types?
A. The new IEEE floating-point types are available when you
   compile your program with {$N+} and you have a math
   coprocessor; they are also available if you don't have a
   coprocessor, but specify {N+,E+}. The 8087 emulator has
   greater precision, but is significantly slower than the fast,
   6-byte, software-only reals. When developing programs that
   will be compiled and run on machines without the 8087
   coprocessor, consider the tradeoffs of speed (built-in reals)
   vs. precision (8087 hardware/emulation) and make the
   appropriate choice.


Reference:


7/16/98 4:35:34 PM
 

Last Modified: 01-SEP-99