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Subject: [boost] Is there interest in Computable Calculus?
From: Damian Vicino (damian.vicino_at_[hidden])
Date: 2016-01-12 21:40:04


Hi,
I’m interested in developing basic support of “real numbers” for computable calculus applications.

In computable calculus, reals have infinite precision (certain restrictions may apply).
The usual approach is representing numbers as functions producing digits.
An arithmetic operation produces a new function using the functions in the operands and some simple expression manipulations.
When a number needs to be evaluated (e.g., for comparisons where expression rules are unknown), enough digits for reaching an answer are generated using the functions. For example, 3.14 < pi requires generating 3 digits to answer “true”.

The algorithms for arithmetic operations and evaluation are well known, and multiple implementations were developed (mostly in the 90s).
However, I couldn’t find an open source implementation and had to come up with my own for working in a project during the last 2 years.
My preferred reference for the required algorithms is the book: Aberth, Oliver. Computable Calculus. Academic Press, 2001.

In particular, my initial scope would be the 4 arithmetic operations (+, -, *, /), and the comparison operators (<, =) for reals.

Someone is interested in such a library in boost?


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