Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!mcvax!ukc!dcl-cs!bath63!pes From: pes@bath63.ux63.bath.ac.uk (Paul Smee) Newsgroups: comp.lang.c Subject: Re: Is .2 irrational? Message-ID: <710@bath63.ux63.bath.ac.uk> Date: Fri, 9-Jan-87 05:56:16 EST Article-I.D.: bath63.710 Posted: Fri Jan 9 05:56:16 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 10-Jan-87 03:48:11 EST References: <442@catnip.UUCP> <7456@utzoo.UUCP> <153@piaget.UUCP> <1384@bunker.UUCP> <568@brl-sem.ARPA> Reply-To: pes@ux63.bath.ac.uk (Paul Smee) Organization: AUCC c/o University of Bath Lines: 11 There was a 'language' (focal, I believe it was, and was a bit similar to early BASIC) on the PDP-9 (never saw it anywhere else, was standard there, yes Virginia I am that old) which stored all numbers as fractions -- that is, each number used 2 storage locations, one for the numerator and one for the denominator. So, subject to storage-unit length, any rational number within range could be represented exactly. There were some obvious difficulties, of course, such as the fact that the maximum magnitude which could be represented depended on the denominator of the fraction. Still, it offers an approach...