Reply-To:	<arfa AT clara DOT net>
From:	"Arthur" <arfa AT clara DOT net>
To:	"DJGPP Mailing List" <djgpp AT delorie DOT com>
Subject:	RE: Floating/fixed point
Date:	Sat, 12 Sep 1998 15:45:14 +0100
Message-ID:	<000601bdde5b$f3b72c20$f54e08c3@arthur>
MIME-Version:	1.0
In-Reply-To:	<35F97EDF.694B9052@alcyone.com>
Importance:	Normal

> > Like Erik stated,
> > each has its strengths and weaknesses.  Fixed can't represent a number
> > like
> > 1,000,000.  Float takes a bit more work to convert to an integer.
>
> And also, like fixed point, has a finite amount of precision.

Although floating point math is just as fast as integer math on a Pentium,
it sucks on anything less than a Pentium, on any AMD processor (apart from
the K6-2) and any Cyrix processor (apart from the Cyrix MediaGX chip). Also
conditionals and integer-float conversion are unfeasibly slow on any chip.

However, a 32-bit float (32.32) is much more accurate than a 32-bit (16.16)
fixed number.

James Arthur
jaa AT arfa DOT clara DOT net
ICQ#15054819

- Raw text -