Integer size is system-dependent while floating-point size is not. The 8087 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_8087> already had 64-bit floats and every x86 since the i486 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_80486> has too, so there's no reason to change the size of floating-point numbers on different systems. When you write 1.0 in Julia, it is always a Float64.
Real is an abstract type that has many non-floating-point subtypes, including all integer types and rationals. Being a subtype of Real means, as the name suggests, that a type represents values on the real number line. There is a FloatingPoint abstract type, which is closer to what you're thinking of, but it also includes BigFloat. On Tue, Jul 29, 2014 at 11:19 AM, Júlio Hoffimann <[email protected] > wrote: > Dear all, > > By reading the docs, Int is an alias for either Int32 or Int64 depending > on the WORD_SIZE of the machine where Julia is running. > > Why we do not have a similar Float construct for floating points? Can we > say Real is either Float32 or Float64 likewise? Is there any theoretical > difference? > > Best, > Júlio. >
