Sorry for my Huge ignorance, but one of the database fields is "number" and it says (quote)
Number
Stores a floating number. Examples:
- -1000
- 0
- 0.123
What does this mean? I don't understand and have never used this field
As opposed to integer which is confined to whole numbers (1, 2, 13 etc.), float allows for decimals and as such has a floating . (dot) which is floating in the sense that it can move along the number:
123.0
12.30
1.230
0.123
Ah I see- so you it just means a number with a decimal point then? (I am a Word person not a number person!) What sort of use might that be in a database?
Well, I suppose it may be useful if you want to record information such as height in feet. Using just whole numbers in such a case might give a very wrong impression (for better or worse).
Fixed-point_arithmetic at Wikipedia
Fixed point used in banking for example because floating point would be cumbersome/impractical.
I think floating point is where you need to be as precise as possible (decimal to the nth term).
This should probably refer to real numbers. Fixed or floating point number (not floating number) refers to computational representations of a real number. That is a programmers' view. For users, they are really just real numbers, that is numbers that can have not only integer but also decimal part.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_numbers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_numbers
And while we're at it, it may be worthwhile to consider also complex numbers which can have not only real but also imaginary part.
I'm more confused than I was when I asked
The quoted description should say
Number -- Stores a real number. Examples: ...
If that field can store imaginary numbers, then it should be:
Number -- Stores a real or imaginary number. Examples: ...
All examples are for real numbers, so the latter may not apply.
Number -- Stores a real number. Examples: ...
If that field can store imaginary numbers, then it should be:
Number -- Stores a real or imaginary number. Examples: ...
All examples are for real numbers, so the latter may not apply.
When Mary first asked, I edited the page (http://docs.moodle.org/22/en/Database_fields#Number) to be human-readable (as opposed to computer scientist, or mathematician-readable). Hopefully what is there is clear now.