[comp.arch] where can I get a copy of the IEEE floating point standards?

jsm@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (John Scott McCauley Jr.) (07/15/88)

I am trying to get a copy of the IEEE floating point standards. Have they
been published in an IEEE journal or do I have to write IEEE for them?
Also, is there a program that tests how close a floating point package
sticks to the standard?
	Thanks,
		Scott McCauley
		jsm@phoenix.princeton.edu

roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) (07/15/88)

jsm@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (John Scott McCauley Jr.) writes:
> I am trying to get a copy of the IEEE floating point standards.

	What you want (I think) is "ANSI/IEEE Std 754-1985:  IEEE Standard
for Binary Floating-Point Arithmetic".  It available from the IEEE:

	IEEE Service Center
	445 Hoes Lane
	Piscataway, NJ 08854
	(201) 981-0060

When we ordered it, it was $8.50.  It's short; the whole thing is 17 pages,
including the index, appendix, title page, etc.  Another useful address to
have for ordering standards is:

	American National Standards Institute
	1430 Broadway
	New York, NY 10018
	Attn: sales

> is there a program that tests how close a floating point package sticks
> to the standard?

	You might want to read:

%A Eugene H. Spafford
%A John C. Flaspohler
%T A report on the accuracy of some floating point math functions
on selected computers: technical report GIT-ICS 85/06
%I Georgia Institute of Technology
%C Atlanta, Georgia

	I would imagine Dave Hough at Sun would be able to point you to
some more complete studies of IEEE-754 math packages.
-- 
Roy Smith, System Administrator
Public Health Research Institute
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