Updated: 11 December 1998

DIGITAL Portable Mathematics Library

This glossary defines mathematical terms and symbolic names used in this manual.

complex number: See F_COMPLEX.

denormalized number: A floating-point number with a value very close to zero.

domain error: An exception condition resulting from passing an argument whose value is outside the range of permissible values.

exceptional argument: Any argument value passed to a DPML routine that does not return a meaningful result, or an argument defined differently for different platforms.

F_COMPLEX: A complex number identifier. F_COMPLEX indicates that a given routine returns two different values of the same floating-point data type. See Table 1-2 for more information.

F_TYPE: A floating-point number identifier. F_TYPE is used when it is not necessary to distinguish between the floating types. See Table 1-1 for more information.

floating-point number: See F_TYPE.

HUGE_RESULT: For VAX data types, HUGE_RESULT = max_float.

For IEEE data types, HUGE_RESULT = infinity.

INV_RESULT: For VAX data types, INV_RESULT = 0.

For IEEE data types, INV_RESULT = NaN.

invalid argument: See domain error.

max_float: The largest finite number representable in the floating-point data types. See Appendix A for more information on max_float values.

min_float: The smallest positive normalized nonzero number representable in the floating-point data types. See Appendix A for more information on min_float values.

NaN: A floating-point value that is said to be "not a number" and contains an indeterminate quantity.

overflow: An exception condition caused by passing a floating-point value that is larger than the highest valid floating-point value. See max_float for additional information.

range error: An exception condition that occurs when a mathematically valid argument results in a function value that exceeds the range of representable values for floating-point data types.

underflow: An exception condition caused by passing a floating-point value that is lower than the lowest valid floating-point value. See min_float for additional information.

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