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Master TOML Floats: Ultimate Guide to IEEE 754 Representation
TOML (Tom’s Obvious, Minimal Language) is a configuration language that’s designed to be simple and easy to understand, with a focus on usability. One of the primary data types in TOML is float
, which is used to represent decimal numbers with a fractional part. These float
values in TOML are implemented as IEEE 754 binary64 values. In this blog, we'll dive into how floats work in TOML, with particular emphasis on their syntax, representation, and the rules that define valid and invalid float values.
What is a Float in TOML?
In TOML, a float
is a numerical value that can represent real numbers, including fractional values and those expressed in scientific notation (with exponents).
A float
consists of three parts:
- Integer Part: The whole number part of the float.
- Fractional Part: The part after the decimal point.
- Exponent Part: The part that shows how the number should be scaled, based on the exponent.
The IEEE 754 binary64 standard (commonly known as double-precision floating point) is used for encoding these values. This standard defines how floating-point numbers are represented and how operations on them are performed.