On Sep 30, 2006, at 2:21 PM, David Vallner wrote:
> Your example works because integers are rational IEEE floating point
> numbers. Problems arise when you use a number that's a rational  
> decimal
> number, but an irrational IEEE binary floating point one. Those aren't
> precise no matter what storage size you use.

I understand what you're trying to say, but 'rational' and  
'irrational' are the wrong terms.  0.2 = 2/10, therefore it's a  
rational number (it can be expressed exactly as a ratio), but it  
can't be represented exactly as a base 2 floating-point number.   
Whether a number is rational (like 0.2) or irrational (like sqrt(3))  
is a basic mathematical property of the number; it has nothing to do  
with how it's represented.

TomP