Chris Angelico <ros...@gmail.com> writes: > On Wed, Feb 12, 2014 at 7:17 PM, Ben Finney <ben+pyt...@benfinney.id.au> > wrote: > > Chris Angelico <ros...@gmail.com> writes: > > > >> I have yet to find any computer that works with the set of real > >> numbers in any way. Never mind optimization, they simply cannot > >> work with real numbers. > > > > Not *any* computer? Not in *any* way? The Python built-in ‘float’ > > type “works with the set of real numbers”, in a way. > > No, the Python built-in float type works with a subset of real numbers
So, “works with a subset of real numbers” is not satisfactory, then. Okay. > Same goes for fractions.Fraction and [c]decimal.Decimal. All of them > are restricted to some subset of rational numbers, not all reals. > > > What specific behaviour would, for you, qualify as “works with the > > set of real numbers in any way”? > > Being able to represent surds, pi, e, etc, for a start. So, if I understand you right, you want to say that you've not found a computer that works with the *complete* set of real numbers. Yes? -- \ “To have the choice between proprietary software packages, is | `\ being able to choose your master. Freedom means not having a | _o__) master.” —Richard M. Stallman, 2007-05-16 | Ben Finney -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
