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Re: st: limit to number of digits that can be precisely input into a Stata
From
"William Gould, StataCorp LP" <[email protected]>
To
[email protected]
Subject
Re: st: limit to number of digits that can be precisely input into a Stata
Date
Tue, 15 May 2012 10:16:13 -0500
David Beede asked,
> Is 15 the maximum number of digits one can [...] precisely[ ..]
> input into a Stata dataset using -insheet-?
The maximum value that can ber stored precisely is
9,007,199,254,740,992
or, without commas,
9007199254740992
There are 16 digits in the number, but 16-digit numbers greater
than 9,007,199,254,740,992 are rounded.
As Nick Cox <[email protected]> mentioned, see
http://blog.stata.com/2012/04/02/the-penultimate-guide-to-precision/
9*10^15 would be pronounced as 9 quadrillion here in America
if we could remember how; I had to look it up on Wikipedia.
We computer geeks would be more likely to say the number as
9 peta-something, as in "Joey has 9 peta-ducks".
I mention this as a way to help everyone remember the limit: a little
over 9*10^15. Here a "little" is a mere 7,199,254,740,992.
-- Bill
[email protected]
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