$bool = is_eq($str);
Returns true if the value perl assigns to an NV from the string
$str is equal to the value C assigns to the C type specified by
$Config{nvtype} from the same string.
Else returns false - which implies that either perl or C is buggy
in its assignment of that value. (Or they could both be buggy.)
When is_eq() returns false, the 2 differing values are by
default printed to STDOUT (in hex). To disable this behaviour
set $Math::NV::no_warn to 2.
$ternary = is_inexact($str);
If $ternary is 0, then the value specified by $str is exactly
representable by an NV.
If $ternary is less than 0, then the value specified by $str
is not exactly representable by an NV, and the nearest NV (ties
to even) is less than the value that the string specifies.
If $ternary is greater than 0, then the value specified by $str
is not exactly representable by an NV, and the nearest NV (ties
to even) is greater than the value that the string specifies.
$bool = is_eq_mpfr($str);
Returns true if the value perl assigns from the string $str is
equal to the value mpfr assigns from the same string. If the
string represents a subnormal value then the mpfr value is
subnormalised before the comparison is made.
When is_eq_mpfr() returns false, the 2 differing values are by
default printed to STDOUT (in hex). To disable this behaviour
set $Math::NV::no_warn to 2.
$nv = nv($str);
($nv, $iv) = nv($str);
On perls whose NV is a C "double", assigns to $nv the value that
the C standard library function strtod($str) assigns.
On perls whose NV is a C "long double", assigns to $nv the value
that the C standard library function strtold($str) assigns.
On perls whose NV is a C "__float128", assigns to $nv the value
that the C standard library function strtofloat128($str) assigns.
In list context, also returns the number of characters that were
unparsed (ignored).
Generally you'll want $str to be a string - eg the string "2.3",
rather than the NV 2.3. Failure to adhere to this will result in
a warning - though you can disable this warning by setting
$Math::NV::no_warn to 1.
$nv = set_C($str);
Uses the standard C library's strtod() or strtold() or strtoflt128(),
depending upon which of those three is correct for perl's floating
point type.
Expect the returned value to be the same as that returned by nv().
$nv = set_mpfr($str);
Uses Math::MPFR to assign the value specified by $str to the NV $nv.
Rounding is to nearest, ties to even.
If the string represents a subnormal value, then the value held by
the Math::MPFR object is subnormalized before being returned in $nv.
$hex = nv_mpfr($str, [$bits]);
Again, values will be subnormalized if appropriate.
If $bits is not specified, it will be set to the value returned by
mant_dig() - which is the appropriate value for the current perl
that is being run.
Valid values for $bits are 53 (double), 64 (80-bit extended
precision long double), 113 (128-bit quad long double or __float128).
To signify the double-double type, set $bits to either 106 or 2098.
(While the double-double has only 106 mantissa bits, it can
encapsulate precisions up to 2098 bits for some values. It makes no
difference whether you specify 106 or 2098 - just go with the number
you consider to be the more appropriate or easiest to memorise.)
Any values other than 53, 64, 106, 113, or 2098 will cause an error.
Uses the mpfr library to assign the value represented by $str as a
double or long double or double-double or __float128 (as determined
by the value of $bits). It then returns a hex dump of the bytes that
make up that C data type.
For example, nv_mpfr('1e+127', 53) returns 5a4d8ba7f519c84f.
This is the same as will be returned by
unpack("H*", pack("d>", 1e+127))
if the assignment of 1e+127 to a double has been done correctly.
For the double-double, the returned scalar is a reference to a list
that contains 2 elements - the hex dump of the most significant
double, and the hex dump of the least siginificant double.
For all other types, the returned scalar contains the hex dump
of the given value.
The enticement to use this function in preference to nv()/set_C is twofold:
1) mpfr reliably sets floating point values correctly (whereas C is
more likely to suffer bugs);
2) nv_mpfr() can provide hex dumps for any of the four data types
(double, long double, double-double and __float128), whereas nv()
returns only the value for whichever data type is specified by
$Config{nvtype}.
Note, however, that for nv_mpfr() to return the hex form of the
__float128 type, the mpfr library (as used by Math::MPFR) needs to have
been built using the configure option --enable-float128, and this
configure option is only available with mpfr-4.0.0 or later - and is
not available for all architectures.
As is the case with nv(), you'll generally want $str to be a string.
For example, specify the string "2.3", rather than the NV 2.3.
Failure to adhere to this will result in a warning - though you can
disable this warning by setting $Math::NV::no_warn to 1.
$nv_type = nv_type();
Returns "double", "long double", or "__float128" depending upon
the way perl has been configured.
The expectation is that it returns the same as $Config{nvtype}.
(Please file a bug report if you find otherwise.)
$digits = mant_dig();
Returns the number of bits the NV mantissa contains. This is
normally 53 if nv_type() is double. For nv_type() of 'long double'
it can be either 64 (extended precision long double), 113 (quad
long double) or 106 (IBM double-double).
For nv_type() of '__float128', mant_dig() will return 113.
This function returns no other than one of those 4 values.
IOW, expect mant_dig() to return the value of the float.h macro
DBL_MANT_DIG, LDBL_MANT_DIG, or FLT128_MANT_DIG depending upon
whichever is appropriate for perl's configuration.
($mantissa, $exponent, $precision) = ld2binary($nv);
Uses code taken from tests/tset_ld.c in the mpfr library source
and returns a base 2 representation of the value contained in the
NV $nv - irrespective of whether the NV type ($Config{nvtype}) is
double, long double or __float128.
$mantissa is the mantissa (significand).
$exponent is the exponent.
$precision is the precision (in bits) of the mantissa - trailing
zero bits are not counted. For example:
@x = ld2binary(2 ** 45);
will, upon investigation of the contents of @x, reveal that the
mantissa is 0.1, the exponent is 46, and the precision is 1.
($mantissa, $exponent, $precision) = ld_str2binary($str);
As for ld2binary, except that the argument is a string, not an NV:
@x = ld_str2binary('35184372088832');
produces same result as doing:
@x = ld2binary(2 ** 45);
$nv = bin2val($mantissa, $exponent, $precision);
Takes the return values of ld_str2binary() or ld2binary() and
returns the original NV. (Doesn't work if the original NV is an inf
or a nan.)
Cprintf($fmt, $nv);
Uses C's printf() function to format the NV $nv, according to the
formatting specified by the string $fmt.
$string = Csprintf($fmt, $nv, $buffer_size);
Uses C's sprintf() function to format the NV $nv, according to the
formatting specified by the string $fmt - and returns the result to
$string. It's the responsibility of the caller to ensure that
$buffer_size specifies a large enough number of characters to
accommodate C's sprintf formatting of $nv.
$ternary = cmp_2($str1, $str2);
The main purpose here is to be able to determine (eg) whether:
0x1.7ap4 == 0b0.10111101e5
or:
0x1.6a09e667f3bcc908p+0 == 0xb.504f333f9de6484p-3
The 2 args begin with an (optional) + or - sign, followed by
(case-insensitive) '0b', '0x', 'nan' or 'inf'. That is, they must
match: /^(\-|\+)?0b|^(\-|\+)?0x|^(\-|\+)?nan|^(\-|\+)?inf/i
The spaceship operator (<=>) is then used to compare the numeric
values of the two strings, the result of which is returned.
A negative return indicates that $str1 < $str2; a positive return
indicates that $str1 > $str2; a return of zero indicates that
$str1 == $str2; a return of undef indicates that $str1 and/or
$str2 is a NaN.
The values of the 2 args are calculated to their full precisions,
even if either/both of those precisions exceed the precision of
perl's floating point type (NV).