# InexactFieldFamily -- the class of all families of inexact fields

## Description

All real numbers have the same class, RR, but the rings they belong to depends on the number of binary digits of precision used to represent them. Similarly for complex numbers, which all belong to the class CC. Thus RR and CC are regarded not as inexact fields, but as families of inexact fields.

 i1 : x = 1/3. o1 = .333333333333333 o1 : RR (of precision 53) i2 : class x o2 = RR o2 : InexactFieldFamily i3 : ring x o3 = RR 53 o3 : RealField i4 : x = 1/3.p200 o4 = .333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333 o4 : RR (of precision 200) i5 : class x o5 = RR o5 : InexactFieldFamily i6 : ring x o6 = RR 200 o6 : RealField

## Methods that use an inexact field family :

• "InexactFieldFamily ^ ZZ" -- see ^ -- a binary operator, usually used for powers
• "default(InexactFieldFamily)" -- see default -- default member of a family
• InexactFieldFamily OrderedMonoid (missing documentation)
• "InexactFieldFamily Array" -- see Ring Array -- the standard way to make a polynomial ring

## Fixed objects of class InexactFieldFamily :

• CC -- the class of all complex numbers
• RR -- the class of all real numbers

## For the programmer

The object InexactFieldFamily is a type, with ancestor classes RingFamily < Type < MutableHashTable < HashTable < Thing.