Re: floating point representation - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Tom Lane
Subject Re: floating point representation
Date
Msg-id 21199.982562614@sss.pgh.pa.us
Whole thread Raw
In response to RE: floating point representation  ("Hiroshi Inoue" <Inoue@tpf.co.jp>)
Responses Re: floating point representation  (Bruce Momjian <pgman@candle.pha.pa.us>)
List pgsql-hackers
Hiroshi Inoue <Inoue@tpf.co.jp> writes:
> The 7.1-release seems near.
> May I provide the followings ?
>     SET FLOAT4_PRECISION TO ..
>     SET FLOAT8_PRECISION TO ..

> Or must we postpone to fix it ?

This seems a small enough change that I do not fear fixing it at this
late date.  However, I do not like the idea of making the SET variables
be just number of digits precision.  As long as we're going to have SET
variables, let's go for the full flexibility offered by sprintf: define
the SET variables as the sprintf format strings to use.  The defaults
would be "%.7g" and "%.17g" (or thereabouts, not sure what number of
digits we are currently using).  This way, someone could select the C99
%a format if he knew that his libc supported it.  Or he could force a
particular format like %7.3f if that's what he needed in a specific
application.
        regards, tom lane


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