logarithmic representation

[David G Hough at validgh]

Logarithmic representations, as an alternative to conventional floating-point
representations, are in the news again.

http://www.logpoint.com/prelimi.htm

contains some of logpoint's technical disclosure.     It suggests that in
logarithmic representation + and - are 
still accomplished with tables of "addition logarithms," and as in the past,
greater precision requires larger tables, so that the most likely 
application is small embedded systems with limited accuracy requirements.   
Logpoint patents are listed on

http://www.logpoint.com/patents.htm

[Interestingly, the references listed for one of the patents include works
attributed to "A. Bechtosheim" of Stanford dated 1980, which looks like it 
might be a misreference to Andres von Bechtolsheim, 
who next developed a SUN workstation for the
Stanford University Network, and then in 1982 founded Sun Microsystems.
Interestingly, a search for Bechtolsheim on Sun's home page turns up mostly
references in German! - perhaps because he is now at Cisco.]

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