math, bigly

[Mark Waddingham]

On 2017-08-09 18:29, Mark Wieder via use-livecode wrote:
> Looking into the engine code, by the time you get to the actual bitXor
> code, the input arguments are already unsigned integers. Since I was
> passing 20-hex-digit values to bitXor, I would have expected some kind
> of runtime warning or error or something. It's not just a loss of
> precision here, it's a totally wrong answer with no indication that
> anything has gone astray. Writing a string-oriented function to handle
> this wasn't a problem - realizing that something had gone wrong was.

Btw, I should mention that the way numbers work in LiveCode has become 
one of my biggest 'pet peeves' over the last year or so. The current way 
things work is too simplistic really - it hides the very important 
distinction between 'exact' and 'inexact' numeric representations, for 
example.

Unfortunately, there's a fair amount of work involved to fix the 
situation to my satisfaction level - although I think I have a handle on 
how to do so without hugely adversely affecting general numeric 
performance. *sigh*

Warmest Regards,

Mark.

-- 
Mark Waddingham ~ mark at livecode.com ~ http://www.livecode.com/
LiveCode: Everyone can create apps