Derek O'Connor <derekrocon...@eircom.net> added the comment: Reply to Mark Dickinson
Python 3.1.2 -- 32 bit gives sin(2^60) = -0.7391806966492228 PariGp 2.3.4 gives sin(2^60) = -0.8306492176372546505752817956 So it seems Intel's x87 FSIN is not being used. Application? I don't have one, but it is not too hard to imagine that buried deep in a large simulation, sin(x) is presented with a large argument, and whose wrong result is never noticed until ... I quote from Ng's paper : http://www.derekroconnor.net/Software/Ng--ArgReduction.pdf -------------------------- "It is often argued that being concerned about large arguments is unnecessary, because sophisticated users simply know better than to compute with large angles. It is our contention that this position is suboptimal, because: 1. It places an unnecessary burden on the user. 2. The consequences of producing incorrect (inaccurate)answers may be catastrophic; many people assume that computers can do arithmetic very well. While numerical analysts know better, not all programmers are numerical analysts, nor should they be. 3. It is a vendors responsibility to provide answers that are as correct as possible." ------------------- Derek O'Connor ---------- _______________________________________ Python tracker <rep...@bugs.python.org> <http://bugs.python.org/issue8309> _______________________________________ _______________________________________________ Python-bugs-list mailing list Unsubscribe: http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-bugs-list/archive%40mail-archive.com
