some "numeric" questions

[Jacques Hausser]

Hello everybody

Sorry for asking such naive questions.

Does some of you know a trick to easily calculate with dates being far 
away in the past and the future ? If they are converted into seconds, 
one is limited to a century, coarsely from 1935 to 2037...

I would also like to find a clear explanation about how the "string 
numbers" are converted internally for computation in Revolution. I read 
old discussions in the archives, but I'm still in the mist . What is 
(are) the exact binary format(s) ? And how does Revolution decides 
which one to use if we do not coerce the number with a ^1 or a round 
function or sometihing like that ?

Last but not least: which RNG is used behind the random function ? Some 
are said to be good, most are worse, and some are reputedly mere 
catastrophes...

Many thanks in advance

Jacques

PS: I like this list with its sudden bursts of dramatic tension... it's 
just a pity I have so few time to read it!

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Prof. J. Hausser
Department of Ecology and Evolution
Biology Building
University of Lausanne
CH-1015 Lausanne-Dorigny
tel: ++ 41 21 692 41 62
fax: ++ 41 21 692 41 65