On Fri, Oct 23, 2015 at 8:19 AM, Jim Callahan < jim.callahan.orlando at gmail.com> wrote:
> Pocket calculators and COBOL used binary coded decimal (bcd) numbers to > avoid the representation/round off issues. But this meant another entire > number type (supported with addition, subtraction and having to be type > checked in functions) in addition to integer and floating point; most found > it easier to use integers to keep track on pennies... Indeed, and the cost was the need to have two completely independent math systems, one precise and one fast. For obvious reasons over time people who did a lot of math just figured out how to make the fast one precise enough for their needs, so mostly nobody wanted the precise one. The obvious choice at that point was to reclaim that silicon space to make everything else faster, and we ended up here. -scott
