Comment by andrewflnr
2 months ago
I was careful. :)
> representable in a finite number of digits or bits
Implying a digit-based representation.
2 months ago
I was careful. :)
> representable in a finite number of digits or bits
Implying a digit-based representation.
> the Unicode string "√5" is representable as 4 UTF-8 bytes
As the other person pointed out, this is representing an irrational number unambiguously in a finite number of bits (8 bits in a byte). I fail to see how your original statement was careful :)
> representable in a finite number of digits or bits
I don’t think those bits unambiguously represent the square root of five. Usually they represent either 3800603189 or -494364107.
Isn't "unambiguous representation" impossible in practice anyway ? Any representation is relative to a formal system.
I can define sqrt(5) in a hard-coded table on a maths program using a few bytes, as well as all the rules for manipulating it in order to end up with correct results.
1 reply →