Re: Numeric 508 datatype - Mailing list pgsql-patches

From Bruce Momjian
Subject Re: Numeric 508 datatype
Date
Msg-id 200512021842.jB2Igeh00374@candle.pha.pa.us
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: Numeric 508 datatype  (Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>)
Responses Re: Numeric 508 datatype
List pgsql-patches
Tom Lane wrote:
> Bruce Momjian <pgman@candle.pha.pa.us> writes:
> > I am confused by your use of the term "dynamic" range.  From what you
> > say above that we are just moving from 1000 to 508 for storage, and that
> > computational range would still be 4096?
>
> No, computational range would still be on the order of 10^16G ... in the
> computational format, the weight is an int.  The restriction to 1000
> digits was never anything but an artificial limit.  (Of course, you
> might not have the patience to actually do any arithmetic with that many
> digits, but the point is there was a whole lot of headroom before, and
> now there won't be.)

Sorry, I am confused.  If our computational range is that high, why does
SELECT factorial(4000) and SELECT factorial(6000) produce the same
number of digits on my screen.

--
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  pgman@candle.pha.pa.us               |  (610) 359-1001
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