Precision (computer science)

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In computer science, the precision of a numerical quantity is a measure of the detail in which the quantity is expressed. This is usually measured in bits, but sometimes in decimal digits. It is related to precision in mathematics, which describes the number of digits that are used to express a value.

Some of the standardized precision formats are

• Half-precision floating-point format
• Single-precision floating-point format
• Double-precision floating-point format
• Quadruple-precision floating-point format
• Octuple-precision floating-point format

Of these, octuple-precision format is rarely used. The single- and double-precision formats are most widely used and supported on nearly all platforms. The use of half-precision format has been increasing especially in the field of machine learning since many machine learning algorithms are inherently error-tolerant.