How to represent the infinite ?

[Chris Barker]

Huaiyu Zhu wrote:
> Before that happens (and I understand that is going to be a long time), I'd
> like to see overflow exception raised only once for each vector, with proper
> information in the exception denoting which element encountered it first.
> This is not likely to upset those who want to see the exceptions, while
> making it much easier to ignore the exceptions if one wants.  I'm not sure
> whether this is a core Python issue or NumPy issue, though.

I think it's a NumPy issue. However, the hope for the future is that
NumPy (actually NumArray) will be part of the standard library someday
(it really should be, a whole lot of people could benefit from it's use
that don't think they re doing "serious" number crunching). If it is,
and even if it is not, the better the computability between NumPy and
core Python the better. Having inf, -inf and NaN is critical for array
operations, but it can be very useful for all numerical work, I really
wish it reliable existed in Python.

I have to say it is very annoying that the vast majority of hardware has
been IEEE 754 compliant for years, and yet there is very little support
in compilers and libraries...aaarrggg!

by the way, The Mathworks seems to be able to provide a reasonable
subset for MATLAB on many platforms..are they just dealing with a
maintenance nightmare?

-Chris


-- 
Christopher Barker, Ph.D.
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