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authorDave Gauer <dave@ratfactor.com>2021-04-09 13:02:36 -0400
committerDave Gauer <dave@ratfactor.com>2021-04-09 13:02:36 -0400
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+//
+// Zig has support for IEEE-754 floating-point numbers in these
+// specific sizes: f16, f32, f64, f128. Floating point literals
+// may be writen in scientific notation:
+//
+// const a1: f32 = 1200.0; // 1,200
+// const a2: f32 = 1.2e+3; // 1,200
+// const b1: f32 = -500_000.0; // -500,000
+// const b2: f32 = -5.0e+5; // -500,000
+//
+// Hex floats can't use the letter 'e' because that's a hex
+// digit, so we use a 'p' instead:
+//
+// const hex: f16 = 0x2A.F7p+3; // Wow, that's arcane!
+//
+// Be sure to use a float type that is large enough to store your
+// value (both in terms of significant digits and scale).
+// Rounding may or may not be okay, but numbers which are too
+// large or too small become inf or -inf (positive or negative
+// infinity)!
+//
+// const pi: f16 = 3.1415926535; // rounds to 3.140625
+// const av: f16 = 6.02214076e+23; // Avogadro's inf(inity)!
+//
+// A float literal has a decimal point. When performing math
+// operations with numeric literals, ensure the types match. Zig
+// does not perform unsafe type coercions behind your back:
+//
+// var foo: f16 = 13.5 * 5; // ERROR!
+// var foo: f16 = 13.5 * 5.0; // No problem, both are floats
+//
+// Please fix the two float problems with this program and
+// display the result as a whole number.
+
+const print = @import("std").debug.print;
+
+pub fn main() void {
+ // The approximate weight of the Space Shuttle upon liftoff
+ // (including boosters and fuel tank) was 2,200 tons.
+ //
+ // We'll convert this weight from tons to kilograms at a
+ // conversion of 907.18kg to the ton.
+ var shuttle_weight: f16 = 907.18 * 2200;
+
+ // By default, float values are formatted in scientific
+ // notation. Try experimenting with '{d}' and '{d:.3}' to see
+ // how decimal formatting works.
+ print("Shuttle liftoff weight: {d:.0}kg\n", .{shuttle_weight});
+}
+
+// Floating further:
+//
+// As an example, Zig's f16 is a IEEE 754 "half-precision" binary
+// floating-point format ("binary16"), which is stored in memory
+// like so:
+//
+// 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
+// | |-------| |-----------------|
+// | exponent significand
+// |
+// sign
+//
+// This example is the decimal number 3.140625, which happens to
+// be the closest representation of Pi we can make with an f16
+// due to the way IEEE-754 floating points store digits:
+//
+// * Sign bit 0 makes the number positive.
+// * Exponent bits 10000 are a scale of 16.
+// * Significand bits 1001001000 are the decimal value 584.
+//
+// IEEE-754 saves space by modifying these values: the value
+// 01111 is always subtracted from the exponent bits (in our
+// case, 10000 - 01111 = 1, so our exponent is 2^1) and our
+// significand digits become the decimal value _after_ an
+// implicit 1 (so 1.1001001000 or 1.5703125 in decimal)! This
+// gives us:
+//
+// 2^1 * 1.5703125 = 3.140625
+//
+// Feel free to forget these implementation details immediately.
+// The important thing to know is that floating point numbers are
+// great at storing big and small values (f64 lets you work with
+// numbers on the scale of the number of atoms in the universe),
+// but digits may be rounded, leading to results which are less
+// precise than integers.
+//
+// Fun fact: sometimes you'll see the significand labeled as a
+// "mantissa" but Donald E. Knuth says not to do that.
+//
+// C compatibility fact: There is also a Zig floating point type
+// specifically for working with C ABIs called c_longdouble.