gawk: Arbitrary Precision Arithmetic

1 
1 15 Arithmetic and Arbitrary-Precision Arithmetic with 'gawk'
1 ************************************************************
1 
1 This major node introduces some basic concepts relating to how computers
1 do arithmetic and defines some important terms.  It then proceeds to
1 describe floating-point arithmetic, which is what 'awk' uses for all its
1 computations, including a discussion of arbitrary-precision
1 floating-point arithmetic, which is a feature available only in 'gawk'.
1 It continues on to present arbitrary-precision integers, and concludes
1 with a description of some points where 'gawk' and the POSIX standard
1 are not quite in agreement.
1 
1      NOTE: Most users of 'gawk' can safely skip this chapter.  But if
1      you want to do scientific calculations with 'gawk', this is the
1      place to be.
1 

Menu

1 
· Computer Arithmetic           A quick intro to computer math.
· Math Definitions              Defining terms used.
· MPFR features                 The MPFR features in 'gawk'.
· FP Math Caution               Things to know.
· Arbitrary Precision Integers  Arbitrary Precision Integer Arithmetic with
1                                   'gawk'.
· Checking for MPFR             How to check if MPFR is available.
· POSIX Floating Point Problems Standards Versus Existing Practice.
· Floating point summary        Summary of floating point discussion.
1