Comparison and Evaluation of Floating Point Representations in IBM/370 and VAX-11/80

Each computer system supports a set of data types which serve as standard interfaces between the user and the computer, and between the computer and peripheral devices. There are scientific applications where, from the user’s point of view, the numerical accuracy is an important quality factor. According to Knuth (1981), the concept of floating point representation can be traced back to Babylonian mathematicians (about 1800 B.C.); the machine use of floating point representation was independently proposed by Leonardo Torres y Quevedo (Madrid, 1914), Konrad Zuse (Berlin, 1936), and George Stibitz (New Jersey, 1939).