Long-float variant giving more precision to numerical computations.

Douglas Crosher wrote:
> Raymond Toy wrote:
> ...
>> Also, I don't think we should convert the slatec routines to use 
>> long-float.  The constants there are only accurate to double-float 
>> because that's all that was used when they were generated (even if the 
>> original source has way more digits---an artifact of f2cl).  I think the 
>> slatec routines should be compiled as normal double-float routines, and 
>> the maxima interface to them should convert to/from flonum to 
>> double-float as appropriate.
> 
> The slatec Fortran source comments suggests it is precise enough for
> double-double float.  The code can be re-translated, maintaining the
> constant precision, using the following hack patch.
> 
> F2cl hack patch to target Fortran double precision to long-float or
> double-double-float:
> http://www.scieneer.com/files/f2cl-patch1.txt.gz
> 

You're right.  That is interesting.  It would be nice if f2cl would 
preserve all the digits in the translation, independent of whatever the 
float format was.  I'll have to think about that....

Ray