Thomas Bushnell BSG wrote:
> You are still pretending that "IEEE real" is a datatype instead of a
> set of rules for computations.
>
>>Which of them would the syntax like "3.14" resolve to?
>
> Neither, because "IEEE real" is not a datatype.

When the reader reads "3.14", it must produce an object. Unless it
associates the string representation with that object, it must convert
"3.14" into an internal representation. How do you select that internal
representation? You will get different results if you represent it as an
IEEE single, IEEE double, VAX double, IBM double, some decimal flonum,
someextended flonum, etc.

Yes, "arithmetic" and "representation" are somewhat separate, but the
reader normally converts an external representation into an internal
representation.

So, how can the reader know which representation to use?

(I have some answers, but here I am simply trying to clarrify the
question. I hope this is a help rather than a hindrance.)

Regards,

Alan
--
Dr Alan Watson
Centro de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica
Universidad Astronómico Nacional de México