Re: [boost] Interval Wrinkles

From: Guillaume Melquiond (gmelquio_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-04-16 16:06:59

On Thu, 17 Apr 2003, Ross Smith wrote:

> The interval library isn't useful for computations involving uncertain
> measurements, since it treats the interval as a square wave with rigid
> limits, not a gaussian distribution.

You shouldn't be so clear-cut on what interval arithmetic can or cannot
handle. It all depends on what kind of uncertain measurements you deal
with. For example, if you know seven (and only seven) digits of your data
are correct because the sensor is accurate but only displays seven digits,
then you don't get a gaussian distribution but a square wave. Each time
precision is reduced due to data sampling (this is the important word),
this phenomenon occurs. And consequently interval arithmetic is able to
handle this king of uncertainty.

Guillaume