| -----Original Message----- | From: boost-bounces@lists.boost.org | [mailto:boost-bounces@lists.boost.org] On Behalf Of Thorsten Ottosen | Sent: 03 December 2005 18:32 | To: boost@lists.boost.org | Subject: Re: [boost] More Math Functions for Statistics (and TR2) | Thanks for doing this important work. Thanks for your encouragement. | Q: is the precision of the algorithms actually so good that | it makes a | difference if one uses float, double or long double? The results shown in the package strongly suggest so, but some functions are MUCH harder to get right than others. | | I guess throwing is out of the question because of C compatibility? :-(( | How are error handled in the new tr1 math functions? C style matherr, I believe, but I have yet to see examples coded. I suspect Dinkumware may have built in options to use exceptions? | > my impression is that most of the warnings look spurious. | How many warnings? what type of warning? Dozens - mostly data loss on conversion, unsigned/signed, untidynesses like unused parameters. I don't want to alter Moshiers code at all (yet). | When you write a revised paper, please enhance the "motivation" section | by drawing from exampes in other languages. If it has been part of | Visual Basic, then write it. If similar functions are used often in Java, | then tell something about it. OK - but there isn't much to tell except that they have them. | 1. why so many functions? are they all really needed? Well of course there was some hyperbole about the number - it counts up from sin and cos to the highest functions - but they all link together so any one missing is a real pain to someone. | 2. would it make more sense to standardize a usability layer on top IMO, higher layers are entirely a user matter. The incomplete beta is to statistics as sin and cos are to geometry. One might consider something to get the moments - mean, variance, skew and kurtosis - but then you get into dealing with the many containers and iterator solutions look attractive, but then where do you put the calculated moments? I'd rather not go there - yet: the functions are probably more than I can chew ;-) Paul