Title :
Number-theoretic test generation for directed rounding
Author_Institution :
Sun Microsyst., Palo Alto, CA, USA
fDate :
7/1/2000 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
We present methods to systematically generate the hardest test cases for multiplication, division, and square root subject to directed rounding, essentially extending previous work on number-theoretic floating-point testing to rounding modes other than to-nearest. The algorithms focus upon the rounding boundaries of the modes truncate, to-minus-infinity, and to-infinity, and programs based on them require little beyond exact arithmetic in the working precision to create billions of edge cases. We will show that the amount of work required to calculate trial multiplicands pays off in the form of free extra tests due to an interconnection among the operations considered herein. Although these tests do not replace proofs of correctness, they can be used to gain a high degree of confidence that the accuracy requirements mandated by IEEE Standard 754 have been satisfied
Keywords :
IEEE standards; floating point arithmetic; number theory; IEEE Standard 754; directed rounding; division; hardest test cases; multiplication; number-theoretic floating-point testing; number-theoretic test generation; proofs of correctness; square root; Algorithm design and analysis; Approximation algorithms; Data analysis; Displays; Equations; Floating-point arithmetic; Hardware; Iterative algorithms; Materials testing; System testing;
Journal_Title :
Computers, IEEE Transactions on