In order to be as general as possible, the library uses a class to compute
all the necessary functions rounded upward or downward. This class is the
first parameter of policies
, it is also the type named
rounding
in the policy definition of interval
.
By default, it is interval_lib::rounded_math<T>
. The
class interval_lib::rounded_math
is already specialized for the
standard floating types (float
, double
and
long double
). So if the base type of your intervals is not one
of these, a good solution would probably be to provide a specialization of
this class. But if the default specialization of
rounded_math<T>
for float
,
double
, or long double
is not what you seek, or you
do not want to specialize interval_lib::rounded_math<T>
(say because you prefer to work in your own namespace) you can also define
your own rounding policy and pass it directly to
interval_lib::policies
.
Here comes what the class is supposed to provide. The domains are written next to their respective functions (as you can see, the functions do not have to worry about invalid values, but they have to handle infinite arguments).
/* Rounding requirements */ struct rounding { // defaut constructor, destructor rounding(); ~rounding(); // mathematical operations T add_down(T, T); // [-∞;+∞][-∞;+∞] T add_up (T, T); // [-∞;+∞][-∞;+∞] T sub_down(T, T); // [-∞;+∞][-∞;+∞] T sub_up (T, T); // [-∞;+∞][-∞;+∞] T mul_down(T, T); // [-∞;+∞][-∞;+∞] T mul_up (T, T); // [-∞;+∞][-∞;+∞] T div_down(T, T); // [-∞;+∞]([-∞;+∞]-{0}) T div_up (T, T); // [-∞;+∞]([-∞;+∞]-{0}) T sqrt_down(T); // ]0;+∞] T sqrt_up (T); // ]0;+∞] T exp_down(T); // [-∞;+∞] T exp_up (T); // [-∞;+∞] T log_down(T); // ]0;+∞] T log_up (T); // ]0;+∞] T cos_down(T); // [0;2π] T cos_up (T); // [0;2π] T tan_down(T); // ]-π/2;π/2[ T tan_up (T); // ]-π/2;π/2[ T asin_down(T); // [-1;1] T asin_up (T); // [-1;1] T acos_down(T); // [-1;1] T acos_up (T); // [-1;1] T atan_down(T); // [-∞;+∞] T atan_up (T); // [-∞;+∞] T sinh_down(T); // [-∞;+∞] T sinh_up (T); // [-∞;+∞] T cosh_down(T); // [-∞;+∞] T cosh_up (T); // [-∞;+∞] T tanh_down(T); // [-∞;+∞] T tanh_up (T); // [-∞;+∞] T asinh_down(T); // [-∞;+∞] T asinh_up (T); // [-∞;+∞] T acosh_down(T); // [1;+∞] T acosh_up (T); // [1;+∞] T atanh_down(T); // [-1;1] T atanh_up (T); // [-1;1] T median(T, T); // [-∞;+∞][-∞;+∞] T int_down(T); // [-∞;+∞] T int_up (T); // [-∞;+∞] // conversion functions T conv_down(U); T conv_up (U); // unprotected rounding class typedef ... unprotected_rounding; };
The constructor and destructor of the rounding class have a very important
semantic requirement: they are responsible for setting and resetting the
rounding modes of the computation on T. For instance, if T is a standard
floating point type and floating point computation is performed according to
the Standard IEEE 754, the constructor can save the current rounding state,
each _up
(resp. _down
) function will round up
(resp. down), and the destructor will restore the saved rounding state.
Indeed this is the behavior of the default rounding policy.
The meaning of all the mathematical functions up until
atanh_up
is clear: each function returns number representable in
the type T
which is a lower bound (for _down
) or
upper bound (for _up
) on the true mathematical result of the
corresponding function. The function median
computes the average
of its two arguments rounded to its nearest representable number. The
functions int_down
and int_up
compute the nearest
integer smaller or bigger than their argument. Finally,
conv_down
and conv_up
are responsible of the
conversions of values of other types to the base number type: the first one
must round down the value and the second one must round it up.
The type unprotected_rounding
allows to remove all controls.
For reasons why one might to do this, see the protection paragraph below.
A lot of classes are provided. The classes are organized by level. At the
bottom is the class rounding_control
. At the next level come
rounded_arith_exact
, rounded_arith_std
and
rounded_arith_opp
. Then there are
rounded_transc_dummy
, rounded_transc_exact
,
rounded_transc_std
and rounded_transc_opp
. And
finally are save_state
and save_state_nothing
. Each
of these classes provide a set of members that are required by the classes of
the next level. For example, a rounded_transc_...
class needs
the members of a rounded_arith_...
class.
When they exist in two versions _std
and _opp
,
the first one does switch the rounding mode each time, and the second one
tries to keep it oriented toward plus infinity. The main purpose of the
_opp
version is to speed up the computations through the use of
the "opposite trick" (see the performance notes). This
version requires the rounding mode to be upward before entering any
computation functions of the class. It guarantees that the rounding mode will
still be upward at the exit of the functions.
Please note that it is really a very bad idea to mix the _opp
version with the _std
since they do not have compatible
properties.
There is a third version named _exact
which computes the
functions without changing the rounding mode. It is an "exact" version
because it is intended for a base type that produces exact results.
The last version is the _dummy
version. It does not do any
computations but still produces compatible results.
Please note that it is possible to use the "exact" version for an inexact
base type, e.g. float
or double
. In that case, the
inclusion property is no longer guaranteed, but this can be useful to speed
up the computation when the inclusion property is not desired strictly. For
instance, in computer graphics, a small error due to floating-point roundoff
is acceptable as long as an approximate version of the inclusion property
holds.
Here comes what each class defines. Later, when they will be described more thoroughly, these members will not be repeated. Please come back here in order to see them. Inheritance is also used to avoid repetitions.
template <class T> struct rounding_control { typedef ... rounding_mode; void set_rounding_mode(rounding_mode); void get_rounding_mode(rounding_mode&); void downward (); void upward (); void to_nearest(); T to_int(T); T force_rounding(T); }; template <class T, class Rounding> struct rounded_arith_... : Rounding { void init(); T add_down(T, T); T add_up (T, T); T sub_down(T, T); T sub_up (T, T); T mul_down(T, T); T mul_up (T, T); T div_down(T, T); T div_up (T, T); T sqrt_down(T); T sqrt_up (T); T median(T, T); T int_down(T); T int_up (T); }; template <class T, class Rounding> struct rounded_transc_... : Rounding { T exp_down(T); T exp_up (T); T log_down(T); T log_up (T); T cos_down(T); T cos_up (T); T tan_down(T); T tan_up (T); T asin_down(T); T asin_up (T); T acos_down(T); T acos_up (T); T atan_down(T); T atan_up (T); T sinh_down(T); T sinh_up (T); T cosh_down(T); T cosh_up (T); T tanh_down(T); T tanh_up (T); T asinh_down(T); T asinh_up (T); T acosh_down(T); T acosh_up (T); T atanh_down(T); T atanh_up (T); }; template <class Rounding> struct save_state_... : Rounding { save_state_...(); ~save_state_...(); typedef ... unprotected_rounding; };
namespace boost { namespace numeric { namespace interval_lib { /* basic rounding control */ template <class T> struct rounding_control; /* arithmetic functions rounding */ template <class T, class Rounding = rounding_control<T> > struct rounded_arith_exact; template <class T, class Rounding = rounding_control<T> > struct rounded_arith_std; template <class T, class Rounding = rounding_control<T> > struct rounded_arith_opp; /* transcendental functions rounding */ template <class T, class Rounding> struct rounded_transc_dummy; template <class T, class Rounding = rounded_arith_exact<T> > struct rounded_transc_exact; template <class T, class Rounding = rounded_arith_std<T> > struct rounded_transc_std; template <class T, class Rounding = rounded_arith_opp<T> > struct rounded_transc_opp; /* rounding-state-saving classes */ template <class Rounding> struct save_state; template <class Rounding> struct save_state_nothing; /* default policy for type T */ template <class T> struct rounded_math; template <> struct rounded_math<float>; template <> struct rounded_math<double>; /* some metaprogramming to convert a protected to unprotected rounding */ template <class I> struct unprotect; } // namespace interval_lib } // namespace numeric } // namespace boost
We now describe each class in the order they appear in the definition of a rounding policy (this outermost-to-innermost order is the reverse order from the synopsis).
Protection refers to the fact that the interval operations will be
surrounded by rounding mode controls. Unprotecting a class means to remove
all the rounding controls. Each rounding policy provides a type
unprotected_rounding
. The required type
unprotected_rounding
gives another rounding class that enables
to work when nested inside rounding. For example, the first three lines below
should all produce the same result (because the first operation is the
rounding constructor, and the last is its destructor, which take care of
setting the rounding modes); and the last line is allowed to have an
undefined behavior (since no rounding constructor or destructor is ever
called).
T c; { rounding rnd; c = rnd.add_down(a, b); } T c; { rounding rnd1; { rounding rnd2; c = rnd2.add_down(a, b); } } T c; { rounding rnd1; { rounding::unprotected_rounding rnd2; c = rnd2.add_down(a, b); } } T d; { rounding::unprotected_rounding rnd; d = rnd.add_down(a, b); }
Naturally rounding::unprotected_rounding
may simply be
rounding
itself. But it can improve performance if it is a
simplified version with empty constructor and destructor. In order to avoid
undefined behaviors, in the library, an object of type
rounding::unprotected_rounding
is guaranteed to be created only
when an object of type rounding
is already alive. See the performance notes for some additional details.
The support library defines a metaprogramming class template
unprotect
which takes an interval type I
and
returns an interval type unprotect<I>::type
where the
rounding policy has been unprotected. Some information about the types:
interval<T, interval_lib::policies<Rounding, _>
>::traits_type::rounding
is the same type as
Rounding
, and unprotect<interval<T,
interval_lib::policies<Rounding, _> > >::type
is
the same type as interval<T,
interval_lib::policies<Rounding::unprotected, _> >
.
First comes save_state
. This class is responsible for saving
the current rounding mode and calling init in its constructor, and for
restoring the saved rounding mode in its destructor. This class also defines
the unprotected_rounding
type.
If the rounding mode does not require any state-saving or initialization,
save_state_nothing
can be used instead of
save_state
.
The classes rounded_transc_exact
,
rounded_transc_std
and rounded_transc_opp
expect
the std namespace to provide the functions exp log cos tan acos asin atan
cosh sinh tanh acosh asinh atanh. For the _std
and
_opp
versions, all these functions should respect the current
rounding mode fixed by a call to downward or upward.
Please note: Unfortunately, the latter is rarely the
case. It is the reason why a class rounded_transc_dummy
is
provided which does not depend on the functions from the std namespace. There
is no magic, however. The functions of rounded_transc_dummy
do
not compute anything. They only return valid values. For example,
cos_down
always returns -1. In this way, we do verify the
inclusion property for the default implementation, even if this has strictly
no value for the user. In order to have useful values, another policy should
be used explicitely, which will most likely lead to a violation of the
inclusion property. In this way, we ensure that the violation is clearly
pointed out to the user who then knows what he stands against. This class
could have been used as the default transcendental rounding class, but it was
decided it would be better for the compilation to fail due to missing
declarations rather than succeed thanks to valid but unusable functions.
The classes rounded_arith_std
and
rounded_arith_opp
expect the operators + - * / and the function
std::sqrt
to respect the current rounding mode.
The class rounded_arith_exact
requires
std::floor
and std::ceil
to be defined since it can
not rely on to_int
.
The functions defined by each of the previous classes did not need any
explanation. For example, the behavior of add_down
is to compute
the sum of two numbers rounded downward. For rounding_control
,
the situation is a bit more complex.
The basic function is force_rounding
which returns its
argument correctly rounded accordingly to the current rounding mode if it was
not already the case. This function is necessary to handle delayed rounding.
Indeed, depending on the way the computations are done, the intermediate
results may be internaly stored in a more precise format and it can lead to a
wrong rounding. So the function enforces the rounding. Here is an example of what happens when the rounding is
not enforced.
The function get_rounding_mode
returns the current rounding
mode, set_rounding_mode
sets the rounding mode back to a
previous value returned by get_rounding_mode
.
downward
, upward
and to_nearest
sets
the rounding mode in one of the three directions. This rounding mode should
be global to all the functions that use the type T
. For example,
after a call to downward
, force_rounding(x+y)
is
expected to return the sum rounded toward -∞.
The function to_int
computes the nearest integer accordingly
to the current rounding mode.
The non-specialized version of rounding_control
does not do
anything. The functions for the rounding mode are empty, and
to_int
and force_rounding
are identity functions.
The pi_
constant functions return suitable integers (for
example, pi_up
returns T(4)
).
The class template rounding_control
is specialized for
float
, double
and long double
in order
to best use the floating point unit of the computer.
The default policy (aka rounded_math<T>
) is simply
defined as:
template <class T> struct rounded_math<T> : save_state_nothing<rounded_arith_exact<T> > {};
and the specializations for float
, double
and
long double
use rounded_arith_opp
, as in:
template <> struct rounded_math<float> : save_state<rounded_arith_opp<float> > {}; template <> struct rounded_math<double> : save_state<rounded_arith_opp<double> > {}; template <> struct rounded_math<long double> : save_state<rounded_arith_opp<long double> > {};
This paragraph deals mostly with the performance of the library with
intervals using the floating-point unit (FPU) of the computer. Let's consider
the sum of [a,b] and [c,d] as an example. The
result is [down
(a+c),
up
(b+d)], where down
and
up
indicate the rounding mode needed.
If the FPU is able to use a different rounding mode for each operation, there is no problem. For example, it's the case for the Alpha processor: each floating-point instruction can specify a different rounding mode. However, the IEEE-754 Standard does not require such a behavior. So most of the FPUs only provide some instructions to set the rounding mode for all subsequent operations. And generally, these instructions need to flush the pipeline of the FPU.
In this situation, the time needed to sum [a,b] and [c,d] is far worse than the time needed to calculate a+b and c+d since the two additions cannot be parallelized. Consequently, the objective is to diminish the number of rounding mode switches.
If this library is not used to provide exact computations, but only for pair arithmetic, the solution is quite simple: do not use rounding. In that case, doing the sum [a,b] and [c,d] will be as fast as computing a+b and c+d. Everything is perfect.
However, if exact computations are required, such a solution is totally unthinkable. So, are we penniless? No, there is still a trick available. Indeed, down(a+c) = -up(-a-c) if the unary minus is an exact operation. It is now possible to calculate the whole sum with the same rounding mode. Generally, the cost of the mode switching is worse than the cost of the sign changes.
Let's recapitulate. Before, when doing an addition, there were three rounding mode switches (down, up and restore). Now, with this little trick, there are only two switches (up and restore). It is better, but still a bottleneck when many operations are nested. Indeed, the generated code for [a,b] + [c,d] + [e,f] will probably look like:
up(); t1 = -(-a - c); t2 = b + d; restore(); up(); x = -(-t1 - e); y = t2 + f; restore();
If you think it is possible to do much better, you are right. For example, this is better (and probably optimal):
up(); x = -(-a - c - e); y = b + d + f; restore();
Such a code will be generated by a compiler if the computations are made without initialization and restoration of the rounding mode. However, it would be far too easy if there were no drawback: because the rounding mode is not restored in the meantime, operations on floating-point numbers must be prohibited. This method can only be used if all the operations are operations on intervals (or operations between an interval and a floating point number).
Here is an example of the Horner scheme to compute the value of a polynom. The rounding mode switches are disabled for the whole computation.
// I is an interval class, the polynom is a simple array template<class I> I horner(const I& x, const I p[], int n) { // save and initialize the rounding mode typename I::traits_type::rounding rnd; // define the unprotected version of the interval type typedef typename boost::numeric::interval_lib::unprotect<I>::type R; const R& a = x; R y = p[n - 1]; for(int i = n - 2; i >= 0; i--) { y = y * a + (const R&)(p[i]); } return y; // restore the rounding mode with the destruction of rnd }
Please note that a rounding object is especially created in order to
compensate for the protection loss. Each interval of type I is converted in
an interval of type R before any operations. If this conversion is not done,
the result is still correct, but the interest of this whole optimization has
disappeared. Whenever possible, it is good to convert to const
R&
instead of R
: indeed, the function could already
be called inside an unprotection block so the types R
and
I
would be the same interval, no need for a conversion.
It was said at the beginning that the Alpha processors can use a specific rounding mode for each operation. However, due to the instruction format, the rounding toward plus infinity is not available. Only the rounding toward minus infinity can be used. So the trick using the change of sign becomes essential, but there is no need to save and restore the rounding mode on both sides of an operation.
There is another problem besides the cost of the rounding mode switch. Some FPUs use extended registers (for example, float computations will be done with double registers, or double computations with long double registers). Consequently, many problems can arise.
The first one is due to to the extended precision of the mantissa. The rounding is also done on this extended precision. And consequently, we still have down(a+b) = -up(-a-b) in the extended registers. But back to the standard precision, we now have down(a+b) < -up(-a-b) instead of an equality. A solution could be not to use this method. But there still are other problems, with the comparisons between numbers for example.
Naturally, there is also a problem with the extended precision of the exponent. To illustrate this problem, let m be the biggest number before +inf. If we calculate 2*[m,m], the answer should be [m,inf]. But due to the extended registers, the FPU will first store [2m,2m] and then convert it to [inf,inf] at the end of the calculus (when the rounding mode is toward +inf). So the answer is no more accurate.
There is only one solution: to force the FPU to convert the extended values back to standard precision after each operation. Some FPUs provide an instruction able to do this conversion (for example the PowerPC processors). But for the FPUs that do not provide it (the x86 processors), the only solution is to write the values to memory and read them back. Such an operation is obviously very expensive.
Here come several cases:
float
or
double
types, use the default
rounded_math<T>
;save_state_nothing<rounded_transc_exact<T>
>
;save_state_nothing<rounded_transc_dummy<T,
rounded_arith_exact<T> > >
or directly
save_state_nothing<rounded_arith_exact<T> >
;Revised: 2004-02-17
Copyright (c) Guillaume Melquiond, Sylvain Pion, Hervé Brönnimann, 2002.
Polytechnic University.
Copyright (c) Guillaume Melquiond, 2004. ENS Lyon.