Comments on: Fixed calculations in Unix scripts http://www.unixtutorial.org/2009/06/fixed-point-calculations-in-unix-scripts/ Learn UNIX Thu, 21 Jan 2010 02:07:52 +0300 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Gleb Reys http://www.unixtutorial.org/2009/06/fixed-point-calculations-in-unix-scripts/comment-page-1/#comment-5051 Gleb Reys Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:48:18 +0000 http://www.unixtutorial.org/?p=583#comment-5051 Thanks for the correction, Dr Tod! I completely mixed the meanings, and thanks to you I have just fixed the post. Please let me know if there's a better way of explaining the topic! Thanks for the correction, Dr Tod!

I completely mixed the meanings, and thanks to you I have just fixed the post.

Please let me know if there's a better way of explaining the topic!

]]> By: Dr. Azrael Tod http://www.unixtutorial.org/2009/06/fixed-point-calculations-in-unix-scripts/comment-page-1/#comment-5047 Dr. Azrael Tod Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:50:58 +0000 http://www.unixtutorial.org/?p=583#comment-5047 uhm.. bc does fixed-point-math, not float. This explains why you have to set where the point is placed and gives _exact_ results (as opposed to FP, where every number is calculated through exponential calculations) if you dont understand what i mean you could simply try to add very small numbers to a big one. If you got the numbers right, you wont see any change in the big number, this means whateveroften you add a to b you wont see any change in b. ...even if a multiplicated by the number of additions (before you add it) would be a lot bigger then b. uhm.. bc does fixed-point-math, not float.
This explains why you have to set where the point is placed and gives _exact_ results (as opposed to FP, where every number is calculated through exponential calculations)

if you dont understand what i mean you could simply try to add very small numbers to a big one.
If you got the numbers right, you wont see any change in the big number, this means whateveroften you add a to b you wont see any change in b.
…even if a multiplicated by the number of additions (before you add it) would be a lot bigger then b.

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