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{{mergeto|Unum (number format)|date=July 2019}}
'''Universal numbers''', or '''unums''', are a replacement for IEEE-754 floating-point numbers proposed by [[Biography:John Gustafson (scientist)|John Gustafson]]. 

'''Posits''' are the most recent version of Gustafson's proposal. They have variable-sized index and mantissa bitfields, with the split being specified by a "regime" indicator. Gustafson claims that they offer better precision than standard floating-point numbers while taking up fewer bits.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nextplatform.com/2019/07/08/new-approach-could-sink-floating-point-computation/|title=New Approach Could Sink Floating Point Computation|last=Feldman|first=Michael|date=2019-07-08|website=www.nextplatform.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kb7zxa/a-new-number-format-for-computers-could-nuke-approximation-errors-for-good|title=A New Number Format for Computers Could Nuke Approximation Errors for Good|last=Byrne|first=Michael|date=2016-04-24|website=Vice|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-09}}</ref>

Gustafson has published a book, ''The End of Error: Unum Computing'', describing an earlier version of his system and its advantages.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The end of error: unum computing|last=Gustafson|first=John L.|isbn=978-1482239874|location=Boca Raton, Florida|oclc=907941317|year=2015}}</ref> Posits are a more recent version of the same general scheme.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://posithub.org/docs/Posits4.pdf Gustafson's 2017 paper on posits]

[[Category:Computer arithmetic]]
[[Category:Numerical analysis]]



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