Changes between Version 33 and Version 34 of ChapterMath

Author:

Don Clugston (IP: 195.243.104.114)

Timestamp:

08/25/08 05:51:46 (5 years ago)

Comment:

Basic docs for BigInt?

ChapterMath

@@ -218 +218 @@
-
-'''Never''' store a pointer as an integer payload inside a NaN. The garbage collector will not be able to find it!
+
+[[docs(math.BigInt,tango.math.BigInt.html,h2)]]
+
+The built-in integral types are have inadequate precision for certain applications, such as high-precision mathematics and cryptography. Tango provides arbitrary-precision arithmetic using the BigInt type, which is capable of performing calculations with thousands of digits of precision. Generally speaking,  BigInt can be used as a drop-in replacement for {{{int}}} or {{{long}}}.
+To achieve this, BigInt uses value semantics, implemented in D1.0 using Copy-on-Write. Unfortunately, this results in the creation of many temporary heap objects (a problem which will not occur in D2.0).
+
+BigInt is intended to provide excellent performance for small to moderate numbers of digits (up to a few thousand decimal digits). Highly optimised assembly routines are used for the most widely-used processors.
+For extremely large numbers, or for relatively obscure processors, consider using GMP (http://www.gmplib.org/).
-
-[[docs(math.Bracket,tango.math.Bracket.html,h2)]]