Patrick Durusau:
> I can't speak to the "need" to handle exactly 53 bits but why create a
> variation from IEEE 754's 64-bit representation for numbers?
There's *no* variation. The text explains the implications of *using* the IEEE standard... we are NOT changing anything.
Many implementations do not support an infinite number of bits :-). Therefore, it's useful to specify a range that *is* guaranteed to be supported. Most people use IEEE 64-bit or better (e.g., 80-bit), and thus have at least 53 bits for the mantissa. Thus, if you're using integers, 48 bits of significance is within a portable range.
--- David A. Wheeler
