ToC DocOverview CGDoc RelNotes Index PermutedIndex
Allegro CL
Home Previous Up Next Table of Contents Index
  ANSI Common Lisp   12 Numbers   12.2 Dictionary of Numbers

12.2.4 float System Class

Class Precedence List:
float, real, number, t

Description:
A float is a mathematical rational (but not a Common Lisp rational) of the form s f be-p, where s is +1 or -1, the sign; b is an integer greater than 1, the base or radix of the representation; p is a positive integer, the precision (in base-b digits) of the float; f is a positive integer between bp-1 and bp-1 (inclusive), the significand; and e is an integer, the exponent. The value of p and the range of e depends on the implementation and on the type of float within that implementation. In addition, there is a floating-point zero; depending on the implementation, there can also be a "minus zero". If there is no minus zero, then 0.0 and -0.0 are both interpreted as simply a floating-point zero. (= 0.0 -0.0) is always true. If there is a minus zero, (eql -0.0 0.0) is false, otherwise it is true.

The types short-float, single-float, double-float, and long-float are subtypes of type float. Any two of them must be either disjoint types or the same type; if the same type, then any other types between them in the above ordering must also be the same type. For example, if the type single-float and the type long-float are the same type, then the type double-float must be the same type also.

Compound Type Specifier Kind:
Abbreviating.

Compound Type Specifier Syntax:
(float [lower-limit [upper-limit)]]

Compound Type Specifier Arguments:
lower-limit, upper-limit - interval designators for type float. The defaults for each of lower-limit and upper-limit is the symbol *.

Compound Type Specifier Description:
This denotes the floats on the interval described by lower-limit and upper-limit.

See Also:
Figure 2.3.1 Numbers as Tokens, Section 2.3.2 Constructing Numbers from Tokens, Section 22.1.3.1.3 Printing Floats

Notes:
Note that all mathematical integers are representable not only as Common Lisp reals, but also as complex floats. For example, possible representations of the mathematical number 1 include the integer 1, the float 1.0, or the complex #C(1.0 0.0).

Allegro CL Implementation Details:
None.

Home Previous Up Next Table of Contents Index
© Franz Inc. 1998-2019 - File last updated 02-07-2019