Re:Beware of Fast-Math
by lo0dot0 on Saturday May 31, 2025 @09:51AM
(#44144277)
While it technically correct to say this it also gets the wrong point across because it leaves out the fact that ordering changes create only a small difference. Other examples where arithmetic is not commutative, e.g.
matrix multiplication , can create much larger differences.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
> ordering changes create only a small difference.
That can’t be assumed.
You can easily fall into a situation like:
total = large_float_value
for _ in range(1_000_000_000):
total += .01
assert total == large_float_value