Bug #62668 for Number-WithError: Scaling error

Wed Nov 03 08:43:17 2010 ghaverla [...] materialisations.com - Ticket created

Subject:	Scaling error - Number::WithError-0.08
Date:	Wed, 3 Nov 2010 06:43:04 -0600
To:	bug-Number-WithError [...] rt.cpan.org
From:	Gordon Haverland <ghaverla [...] materialisations.com>

I am scaling numbers, most of which have associated errors. I came across an occurence where I had a value, and no error, and stumbled across a bug. To scale 91 +/- 9 ys (yocto seconds) worked fine. The next value to scale was >910 yocto seconds. I stripped off the greater than sign, and made a Number::WithError object with zero error. $x = Number::WithError->new(910,0.0); and then proceeded to scale it, getting '0e-1 +/- 0.0e00'. Actually, to multiply the $x by anything smaller than 1E-6 seems to produce '0e-1 +/- 0.0e00'. I was investigating the scaling when running perldb inside emacs. If I change the object being created to: $x = Number::WithError->new(910,1.0); And then scale it (multiply by 1E-24), it works fine. As I am going to drop the error after stringifying it, it doesn't matter to me what I have to set the error to. In case you are interested, it's the half life of H-5 in NuBase2003. Number::WithError v0.08 perl v5.10.1 Debian unstable linux running a custom 2.6.32 kernel I hope that is enough information. Have a great day! Gordon Haverland

Sun Nov 21 19:33:46 2010 ghaverla [...] materialisations.com - Correspondence added

Subject:	Re: [rt.cpan.org #62668] AutoReply: Scaling error - Number::WithError-0.08
Date:	Sun, 21 Nov 2010 17:33:35 -0700
To:	bug-Number-WithError [...] rt.cpan.org
From:	Gordon Haverland <ghaverla [...] materialisations.com>

On November 3, 2010, you wrote: Show quoted text

> $x = Number::WithError->new(910,0.0);

Actually, it seems to be a bit more generic. Trailing zeros in the symmetric error term cause problems. For example, using the compact notation for a number with precision, this number does not cause problems: 9732(16). If I have 9730(160), I get problems (the error gets set to 0.0). If I have 9731(160), I again get 0.0 for the error. What I am using as a workaround, is if there is a trailing 0, I change it to a 1. Your routine usually rounds things to the proper numbers with this minor change. Gord

Mon Nov 29 15:33:35 2010 smueller [...] cpan.org - Correspondence added

Subject:	Re: [rt.cpan.org #62668] AutoReply: Scaling error - Number::WithError-0.08
Date:	Mon, 29 Nov 2010 21:33:24 +0100
To:	bug-Number-WithError [...] rt.cpan.org
From:	Steffen Mueller <smueller [...] cpan.org>

Hi Gord, On Nov 22, 2010, at 1:33 AM, ghaverla via RT wrote: Show quoted text

> Queue: Number-WithError > Ticket <URL: http://rt.cpan.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=62668 > > > On November 3, 2010, you wrote:

>> $x = Number::WithError->new(910,0.0);

> > Actually, it seems to be a bit more generic. Trailing zeros in > the symmetric error term cause problems. For example, using the > compact notation for a number with precision, this number does not > cause problems: 9732(16). If I have 9730(160), I get problems > (the error gets set to 0.0). If I have 9731(160), I again get 0.0 > for the error. What I am using as a workaround, is if there is a > trailing 0, I change it to a 1. Your routine usually rounds > things to the proper numbers with this minor change.

sorry for not replying earlier. I'm not deliberately ignoring you, but I started a new job, moved to a different country, and am generally swamped with work. Thus, for the time being, there isn't much I can do. What I'd certainly manage is to apply any patches should you come up with a fix for this issue. Best regards, Steffen

Mon Nov 29 15:33:37 2010 The RT System itself - Status changed from 'new' to 'open'

Mon Nov 29 15:41:11 2010 ghaverla [...] materialisations.com - Correspondence added

Subject:	Re: [rt.cpan.org #62668] AutoReply: Scaling error - Number::WithError-0.08
Date:	Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:41:00 -0700
To:	bug-Number-WithError [...] rt.cpan.org
From:	Gordon Haverland <ghaverla [...] materialisations.com>

On November 29, 2010, you wrote: Show quoted text

> <URL: https://rt.cpan.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=62668 > > > Hi Gord, > > On Nov 22, 2010, at 1:33 AM, ghaverla via RT wrote:

> > Queue: Number-WithError > > > > Ticket <URL: http://rt.cpan.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=62668

> > >

> > > > On November 3, 2010, you wrote:

> >> $x = Number::WithError->new(910,0.0);

> > > > Actually, it seems to be a bit more generic. Trailing zeros > > in the symmetric error term cause problems. For example, > > using the compact notation for a number with precision, this > > number does not cause problems: 9732(16). If I have > > 9730(160), I get problems (the error gets set to 0.0). If I > > have 9731(160), I again get 0.0 for the error. What I am > > using as a workaround, is if there is a trailing 0, I change > > it to a 1. Your routine usually rounds things to the proper > > numbers with this minor change.

> > sorry for not replying earlier. I'm not deliberately ignoring > you, but I started a new job, moved to a different country, > and am generally swamped with work. Thus, for the time being, > there isn't much I can do. What I'd certainly manage is to > apply any patches should you come up with a fix for this > issue.

Hello Steffen. No problem. Congratulations on the new job and surviving a move. I hadn't thought about fixing the problem, I had found a way around it. But, I'll see what I can do. First thing is to get the database constructed. When I am building my own modules to access the data, I can look into this bug. Gord

Bug #62668 for Number-WithError: Scaling error - Number::WithError-0.08