From: Gary Wright <gwtmp01@...>
Date: 2012-01-30T10:03:04+09:00
Subject: Re: Microrant on Ruy's Math Skills


On Jan 29, 2012, at 2:26 AM, Jon Lambert wrote:

> On Jan 27, 2012, at 3:26 PM, Gary Wright wrote:
>> What 'value' do you expect for this expression:
>> 
>> BigDecimal("1.0") / BigDecimal("3.0")
> 
> Decimal math operations need use a default rounding context or require one to set a
> rounding context before performing an operation.
> 
> Do you round towards +infinity, -infinity,
> towards 0, away from 0,
> to nearest (and if equidistant, round down),
> to nearest (and if equidistant, round up), or
> to nearest (and if equidistant, round so that the last digit is even) aka. bankers rounding?
> 
> Only then can you know what to expect.

Agree 100%.  I was just trying to illustrate that even if you have some
wonderfully crafted big decimal literal syntax, you still need to address
the context issues you just listed.

	1.0D / 3.0D

Might be easier to type but it is only part (perhaps a small part) of the puzzle.

Gary Wright