Report Number: CS-TR-67-62
Institution: Stanford University, Department of Computer Science
Title: Varying length floating point arithmetic: a necessary tool for the numerical analyst
Author: Tienari, Martti
Date: April 1967
Abstract: The traditional floating point arithmetic of scientific computers is biased towards fast and easy production of numerical results without enough provision to enable the programmer to control and solve problems connected with numerical accuracy and cumulative round-off errors. The author suggests the varying length floating point arithmetic as a general purpose solution for most of these problems. Some general philosophies are outlined for applications of this feature in numerical analysis. The idea is analyzed further discussing hardware and software implementations.
http://i.stanford.edu/pub/cstr/reports/cs/tr/67/62/CS-TR-67-62.pdf