Float and double are both used to store numbers with decimal points in programming. The key difference is their precision and storage size. A float is typically a 32-bit number with a precision of about 7 decimal digits, while a double is a 64-bit number with a precision of about 15 decimal digits. Thus, double can store larger numbers and provide more accurate calculations than float.
What is Float?
A data type is used to store floating-point numbers with single precision. It typically occupies 4 bytes (32 bits) of memory and provides approximately 7 decimal digits of precision. Floats are commonly used in memory-critical applications where precision requirements are not very high.
What is a Double?
A data type is used to store floating-point numbers with double precision. It typically occupies 8 bytes (64 bits) of memory and provides approximately 15-16 decimal digits of precision. Doubles are preferred for applications requiring high-precision calculations, such as scientific computations and financial applications.
Difference between Float and Double:
Float | Double |
---|---|
Its size is 4 bytes | Its size is 8 bytes |
It has 7 decimal digits precision | It has 15 decimal digits precision |
It is an integer data type but with decimals | It is an integer data type but with decimals |
It may get Precision errors while dealing with large numbers | It will not get precision errors while dealing with large numbers. |
This data type supports up to 7 digits of storage. | This data type supports up to 15 digits of storage. |
For float data type, the format specifier is %f. | For double data type, the format specifier is %lf. |
It is less costly in terms of memory usage. | For example -: 5.3645803 |
It requires less memory space as compared to double data type. | It is costly in terms of memory usage. |
It is suitable in graphics libraries for greater processing power because of its small range. | It needs more resources such as occupying more memory space in comparison to float data type. |
For example -: 3.1415 | It is suitable to use in the programming language to prevent errors while rounding off the decimal values because of its wide range. |
Implementation:
Here is the implementation to show the difference between float and double:
// C program to demonstrate
// double and float precision values
#include <math.h>
#include <stdio.h>
// utility function which calculate roots of
// quadratic equation using double values
void double_solve(double a, double b, double c)
{
double d = b * b - 4.0 * a * c;
double sd = sqrt(d);
double r1 = (-b + sd) / (2.0 * a);
double r2 = (-b - sd) / (2.0 * a);
printf(" % .5f\t % .5f\n ", r1, r2);
}
// utility function which calculate roots of
// quadratic equation using float values
void float_solve(float a, float b, float c)
{
float d = b * b - 4.0f * a * c;
float sd = sqrtf(d);
float r1 = (-b + sd) / (2.0f * a);
float r2 = (-b - sd) / (2.0f * a);
printf(" % .5f\t % .5f\n ", r1, r2);
}
// driver program
int main()
{
float fa = 1.0f;
float fb = -4.0000000f;
float fc = 3.9999999f;
double da = 1.0;
double db = -4.0000000;
double dc = 3.9999999;
printf("roots of equation x^2- 4.0000000 x + 3.9999999= "
"0 are: \n ");
printf("for float values: \n");
float_solve(fa, fb, fc);
printf("for double values: \n");
double_solve(da, db, dc);
return 0;
}
import java.lang.Math;
public class QuadraticEquation {
public static void doubleSolve(double a, double b, double c) {
double d = b * b - 4.0 * a * c;
double sd = Math.sqrt(d);
double r1 = (-b + sd) / (2.0 * a);
double r2 = (-b - sd) / (2.0 * a);
System.out.printf(" %.5f\t %.5f\n ", r1, r2);
}
public static void floatSolve(float a, float b, float c) {
float d = b * b - 4.0f * a * c;
float sd = (float)Math.sqrt(d);
float r1 = (-b + sd) / (2.0f * a);
float r2 = (-b - sd) / (2.0f * a);
System.out.printf(" %.5f\t %.5f\n ", r1, r2);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
float fa = 1.0f;
float fb = -4.0000000f;
float fc = 3.9999999f;
double da = 1.0;
double db = -4.0000000;
double dc = 3.9999999;
System.out.println("roots of equation x^2 - 4.0000000 x + 3.9999999 = 0 are:");
System.out.println("for float values:");
floatSolve(fa, fb, fc);
System.out.println("for double values:");
doubleSolve(da, db, dc);
}
}
import math
def double_solve(a, b, c):
d = b * b - 4.0 * a * c
sd = math.sqrt(d)
r1 = (-b + sd) / (2.0 * a)
r2 = (-b - sd) / (2.0 * a)
print(" {:.5f}\t {:.5f}".format(r1, r2))
def float_solve(a, b, c):
d = b * b - 4.0 * a * c
sd = math.sqrt(d)
r1 = (-b + sd) / (2.0 * a)
r2 = (-b - sd) / (2.0 * a)
print(" {:.5f}\t {:.5f}".format(r1, r2))
def main():
fa = 1.0
fb = -4.0000000
fc = 3.9999999
da = 1.0
db = -4.0000000
dc = 3.9999999
print("roots of equation x^2 - 4.0000000 x + 3.9999999 = 0 are:")
print("for float values:")
float_solve(fa, fb, fc)
print("for double values:")
double_solve(da, db, dc)
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
using System;
class Program
{
static void DoubleSolve(double a, double b, double c)
{
double d = b * b - 4.0 * a * c;
double sd = Math.Sqrt(d);
double r1 = (-b + sd) / (2.0 * a);
double r2 = (-b - sd) / (2.0 * a);
Console.WriteLine(" {0:0.#####}\t {1:0.#####}", r1, r2);
}
static void FloatSolve(float a, float b, float c)
{
float d = b * b - 4.0f * a * c;
float sd = (float)Math.Sqrt(d);
float r1 = (-b + sd) / (2.0f * a);
float r2 = (-b - sd) / (2.0f * a);
Console.WriteLine(" {0:0.#####}\t {1:0.#####}", r1, r2);
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
float fa = 1.0f;
float fb = -4.0000000f;
float fc = 3.9999999f;
double da = 1.0;
double db = -4.0000000;
double dc = 3.9999999;
Console.WriteLine("roots of equation x^2 - 4.0000000 x + 3.9999999 = 0 are:");
Console.WriteLine("for float values:");
FloatSolve(fa, fb, fc);
Console
// utility function which calculate roots of
// quadratic equation using double values
function doubleSolve(a, b, c) {
let d = b * b - 4.0 * a * c;
let sd = Math.sqrt(d);
let r1 = (-b + sd) / (2.0 * a);
let r2 = (-b - sd) / (2.0 * a);
console.log(`${r1.toFixed(5)}\t${r2.toFixed(5)}`);
}
// utility function which calculate roots of
// quadratic equation using float values
function floatSolve(a, b, c) {
let d = b * b - 4.0 * a * c;
let sd = Math.sqrt(d);
let r1 = (-b + sd) / (2.0 * a);
let r2 = (-b - sd) / (2.0 * a);
console.log(`${r1.toFixed(5)}\t${r2.toFixed(5)}`);
}
// driver program
let fa = 1.0;
let fb = -4.0000000;
let fc = 3.9999999;
let da = 1.0;
let db = -4.0000000;
let dc = 3.9999999;
console.log("roots of equation x^2 - 4.0000000x + 3.9999999 = 0 are:");
console.log("for float values:");
floatSolve(fa, fb, fc);
console.log("for double values:");
doubleSolve(da, db, dc);
Output
roots of equation x^2- 4.0000000 x + 3.9999999= 0 are: for float values: 2.00000 2.00000 for double values: 2.00032 1.99968
Conclusion:
Float and double are decimal number data types in programming. Float is a 32-bit type with single-precision, while double is a 64-bit type with double-precision. Float uses less memory but offers less precision, while double uses more memory but provides higher precision. The choice between them depends on your program’s precision needs and memory resources.