On Thursday, 30 May 2013 at 16:18:44 UTC, Shriramana Sharma wrote:
Hello. I like that D exposes to me the real type to maximally
utilize
the machine's numerical precision. Since I am writing a program
(currently in C++ but I am thinking of moving to D) that has to
handle
lots of fractional numbers (calculating offset curves and such)
I am
wondering whether/when I should real instead of double or even
any
arguments in favour of staying with double (compatibility with
C/C++?). Any pointers appreciated please? I checked the FAQ but
it
doesn't seem to mention this.
Thanks!
Since D does all operations at highest possible precision anyway
(even for double or float) it only makes a difference when the
value is being stored to memory and then read back again.
I would recommend aliasing double or real to a custom name and
then using that. Then when you're done you can easily switch
between them and see how it affects precision in your particular
case and decide what's best.
