Why doesn't C++ have <cstdfloat> header for floats like it has <cstdint> for integers?
EDIT :
By <cstdfloat> I mean header that provides typedefs for float and double. Much like qreal typedef in Qt. Hope my question is clear now.
Asked
Active
Viewed 2,850 times
10
-
2is actually not part of Standard C++ – Dec 31 '09 at 20:07
-
What is it specifically from cstdint that you would like for floats? – Graphics Noob Dec 31 '09 at 20:12
-
2@Neil It will be added in C++0x though – dvide Dec 31 '09 at 20:16
2 Answers
7
Often an application needs exactly 16 bits for an integer for, say, a bitfield, but having exactly 16 bits for a float is kind of useless. Manipulating bits in an integer is easy, so having exactly 16 is nice. Manipulating bits in a float requires casting it to an integer, making a float16 type rather extraneous.
By the same token, having an integral type capable of storing (and also performing math on) pointers is useful, but who ever needs to convert a pointer value to a floating point value, then perform floating point math on it, then convert it back to a pointer?
The point is that most of the functionality in stdint.h (or cstdint for C++, except that stdint.h is a C99 header and isn't technically part of C++) doesn't apply to floating point values.
Chris Lutz
- 73,191
- 16
- 130
- 183
3
Are you perhaps looking for <float.h> and its C++ brother <cfloat> instead?
Adam Rosenfield
- 390,455
- 97
- 512
- 589
-
is a different thing. I am talking about header that provides typedefs for float and double. Much like qreal typedef in Qt. Hope you understand my question now. – missingfaktor Dec 31 '09 at 20:10
-
Then you should specify that in your question. Your question is incredibly vague. – Adam Rosenfield Dec 31 '09 at 20:11
-