Subject: Re: Are numbers REAL?
From: [email-masked] (Stephan Kortleven)
To: [email-masked]
Date: 21 Jul 94 12:15:49 CET

In a message of 20 Jul 94 GEORGAKAKIS,LOUIS,MR wrote to me:

 GLM> Can someone tell me why, when I write down this little program, it
 GLM> doesn't do what I tell it to?  Here:
 GLM> Print 5.7896
 GLM> MouseWait
 GLM> This should print out 5.7896 in a Shell window right? WRONG! It prints
 GLM> out:
 GLM> 5.789599
 GLM> Why?  WHY!?
 GLM> Sigh.

Standart BlitzII is using a double precission var known as floats. That means,
if you put none extention after the var, double precission var are used (.f).
Double precission var have one big disadvantage. There are not quite exact in
calculating numbers. But you can go from a range of +/-9*10^18, you have to deal
with this big disadvantage. So, a solution to you prblem will be very simple.
Try to use (.q) singe precission var known as quick. If you have enough with var
going from a range +/-32768.0000. Plus they have a advantage to. they are only
using 2 bytes of mem, so you win 2 bytes !

Try this

number.q=5.7896
Print number.q
MouseWait

        _
    /X\
   // \\ -
  (BLITZ) If you like the real world !
   \\ // --
    \X/ _

... Yes ! This is Belguim calling. ;-)