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From: mhx@iae.nl (mhx)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: Re: "The Best Programming Language for the End of the World"
Date: Sun, 6 Apr 2025 07:10:10 +0000
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On Sun, 6 Apr 2025 5:21:05 +0000, dxf wrote:

> On 5/04/2025 6:12 pm, mhx wrote:
[..]
> On the topic of documentation Forth Standard (the document to which
> everyone looks) hasn't clarified aspects of REPRESENT F. etc.

I don't let the Standard confuse me. It's beneficial when others
adhere to it closely, unless it's not. In particular, I don't agree
to the efforts to try to standardize untested 'good ideas.'

> I believe iForth considers PRECISION to mean decimal places.  Did you
> depart from the Standard - or you were confused by it?

I understand the difference between precision and decimal places, but
when formatting numbers my objectives are cosmetic. When I need
precision
I fetch the binary representation, not what a program prints out at a
random spot. It is the same with for example 'C' : it's almost always
about how it looks like on the screen. (Unless when comparing floating
point values, e.g., when trying to let a simulator stop at exactly the
time typed in by the user.)

> That holes still exist after 30 years can only mean forthers are
> content with less than perfect documentation.  No?

Documentation is for others :--)

-marcel