On 1 Jun 2006, at 00:24, David Tubbs wrote:

>
>> PEPS. Infinity. I considered introducing infinity in Minerva, but I
>> wouldn't have been happy with just the one.
>>
>> --
>> Lau & Marcel
>
> So if it is possible for the computer to handle infinity how and  
> where is
> it done ?
>
> Processor or co-processor ?
> Operating system ?
> Programme, spreadsheet or calculator ?
>
> Would it be dependent on how numbers were represented internally ?
>
> I can't see how one can calculate to infinity even though it is  
> simple to
> reason that there are an infinite number of points on a finite line.
>
> 1/0 , 0^0 (==0/0) each produce errors in MSExcel.
>
> Unsurprising, I suppose, that I see no font containing the symbol.


The IEEE format of signed infinities for the FPU on Q40 and Q60 is

$FFFF 0000 0000 0000 (minus infinity)
$7FFF 0000 0000 0000 (plus infinity)

The fifth zero could in fact be 8 as a viable alternative.

George
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