Floating-point arithmetic is the most widely used way of implementing real-number arithmetic on modern computers. However, making such an arithmetic reliable and portable, yet fast, is a very difficult task. As a result, floating-point arithmetic is far from being exploited to its full potential. This handbook aims to provide a complete overview of modern floating-point arithmetic. So that the techniques presented can be put directly into practice in actual coding or design, they are illustrated, whenever possible, by a corresponding program. The handbook is designed for programmers of numerical applications, compiler designers, programmers of floating-point algorithms, designers of arithmetic operators, and more generally, students and researchers in numerical analysis who wish to better understand a tool used in their daily work and research.

Floating-point arithmetic is ubiquitous in modern computing, as it is the tool of choice to approximate real numbers. Due to its limited range and precision, its use can become quite involved and potentially lead to numerous failures. One way to greatly increase confidence in floating-point software is by computer-assisted verification of its correctness proofs. This book provides a comprehensive view of how to formally specify and verify tricky floating-point algorithms with the Coq proof assistant. It describes the Flocq formalization of floating-point arithmetic and some methods to automate theorem proofs. It then presents the specification and verification of various algorithms, from error-free transformations to a numerical scheme for a partial differential equation. The examples cover not only mathematical algorithms but also C programs as well as issues related to compilation.

Floating-point arithmetic is the most widely used way of implementing real-number arithmetic on modern computers. However, making such an arithmetic reliable and portable, yet fast, is a very difficult task. As a result, floating-point arithmetic is far from being exploited to its full potential. This handbook aims to provide a complete overview of modern floating-point arithmetic. So that the techniques presented can be put directly into practice in actual coding or design, they are illustrated, whenever possible, by a corresponding program. The handbook is designed for programmers of numerical applications, compiler designers, programmers of floating-point algorithms, designers of arithmetic operators, and more generally, students and researchers in numerical analysis who wish to better understand a tool used in their daily work and research.