REQUEST: Significant Digit Calculator

[DrD]

(01-22-2018 12:56 AM)Tim Wessman Wrote:  Please give an example of how this is done?

The only things I have seen are some very limited programs that aren't general use and hence not very useful.

I think this would be a good feature. Perhaps something like this could be modeled:

1. A checkbox to select significant figures (sigfigs) mode.

2. Follow the guidance from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Significant_figures. Specifically, the "Arithmetic" section.

Having a significant figures mode would be helpful to avoid overstating accuracy, both in the sciences, and real world data processing. I encountered this frequently in the natural gas industry. Data collection and control devices, capturing field information, got number crunched into values with unrealistic reported accuracy, not possible with the A/D and D/A converters available at the time.

A technician could find it useful for calibration or result verification to validate, independently, the field information that gets telemetered to control centers.