Comment on near zero
henfredemars@infosec.pub 5 months ago
In computer engineering we have positive and negative zero.
And, as a mathematician who has been coding a library to create scaled geometric graphics for his paper, I hate -0.0.
Seriously, I run every number where sign determines action through a function I call “fix_zero” just because tiny tiny rounding errors pile up in floats, even is numpy.
What do you mean? In two’s complement, there is only one zero.
IEEE 754 floating point numbers have a signed bit at the front, causing +0 and -0 to exist.
Specifically I was referring to standard float representation which permits signed zeros. However, other comments provide some interesting examples also.
floats
1- 0,99999…
Floating point numbers are not possible in two’s complement, besides that, what is your point? 0,99999999… is probably the same as 1.
Gladaed@feddit.de 5 months ago
Also in Math.
marcos@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Unknowingly from the GP, that’s where CE got it from.
Gladaed@feddit.de 5 months ago
What is gp/ce?
marcos@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Grand parent / computer engineering
Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 months ago
What algebra uses negative 0?
agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
When taking about limits, you can approach 0 from the positive or negative direction, which can give very different results. For example, lim cotx, x->0+ = ∞ while lim cotx, x->0- = -∞
Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 months ago
Speaking as a mathematician, it’s not really accurate to call that -0.
barsoap@lemm.ee 5 months ago
IEEE 754
I mean it’s an algebra, isn’t it? And it definitely was mathematicians who came up with the thing. In the same way that artists didn’t come up with the CGI colour palette.
Gladaed@feddit.de 5 months ago
Math is more than just the set of all algebras.
Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 months ago
I’m aware. Algebra is what I’m most interested in, and so when someone says “0” I think “additive identity of a ring” unless context makes the use obvious.