>> Detected 166193960 Hz processor.
Chris> I _seriously_ doubt it's that accurate -- we perhaps should
Chris> only stick to 4 or 5 significant figures, beyond that I'm very
Chris> skeptical... 166.2MHz in this case seems like a more logical
Chris> claim.
The number of digits doesn't have to imply the accuracy. I have
listened to numerous physical scientists from the slide-rule era decry
the excessive digits found in computer land. Usually it is a
knee-jerk reaction. Sometimes those extra digits can be useful, and
since throwing them away is an non-reversible process, sometimes
keeping them is a good thing. I am not saying that this is one of
those cases, just suggesting a thoughtful approach.
IMO, the use of significant digits to imply the accuracy of a value is
a kludge, loaded with the artifacts of arbitrary decisions. If an
indication of accuracy is needed, there are better alternatives.
-- Russell Senior seniorr@teleport.com- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/