Rounding Ways

If you thought rounding numbers was trivial, think again. Dan Clarke illustrates the dangers of approximation by rounding floating point numbers. And if you thought rounding was easy, take a look at the different rounding algorithms. Clive Maxfield lists the different ways of rounding, including the hardware world. What this shows is that rounding, without understanding its impact, can be pretty harmful. Especially so in number crunching applications that the financial world uses. It is more critical to specify which rounding algorithm to use to be clear about it with others, and it is more critical to explain why since it can affect accuracy of the application and hence the domain it works in.