Subject: Re: Point Order
From: Ernie Wright <[email-masked]>
To: Multiple recipients of list <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 22:41:02 -0700

Gonzalo Garramuno wrote:

> I take the problem is LW's floating point precission, and working with
> more precission should solve the problem.

Yes.

> Is there a way to easily work with higher precision numbers from a
> programming stand-point (ie. make LW work with higher precission by
> developing your own floating point routine -not being constrained to
> what the compiler's highest precission fp number is)?

Not from the outside.  LW has ultimate control over how the geometry is
represented internally.

On the other hand, it would be possible for Allen to change Layout so
that it stored geometry at higher precision (something I'm sure he'd
thank me for pointing out).  The current situation isn't the result of
compiler limitations.  It's a conscious choice that balances the need
for precision against the need for efficient use of RAM.

A hint that this choice may change in the future is that all floating
point values in the interface for plug-ins (except the Z-buffer) are
double rather than single precision.

> Thanks for taking the time to answer this lost soul.

No problem.

- Ernie