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How to avoid floating point problems?

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  • M mhn2

    @JonB
    I am fine with storing the number as a string. But how can I tell QJsonDocument to use my string as a number, without converting it to a double first? Should I use a custom json parser instead?

    @Axel-Spoerl
    For sake of avoiding confusion I'm only including the related parts of the code and renaming variable names to their type.

    // Some where in the dialogs constructor
    ui->lineEdit->setValidator(new QDoubleValidator());
    
    // Some where in a slot
    float value = m_ui->lineEdit->text().toFloat();
    
    // Some where in the saving json process:
    QJsonObject json;
    json["r"] = value;
    // ...
    QJsonDocument document(json);
    QByteArray data = document.toJson();
    

    These are currently the only places the value gets read and used.

    When the value of the lineEdit is 13.23, the json in the byte array says:

    {
      "r": 13.229999542236328,
      // ...
    }
    
    JonBJ Online
    JonBJ Online
    JonB
    wrote on last edited by
    #5

    @mhn2 said in How to avoid floating point problems?:

    But how can I tell QJsonDocument to use my string as a number

    You cannot! Either you store a number, in which case JSON formats the output, or you store it as a string, in which case you do, but then the reading program must be prepared to accept a string and convert to number.

    Your code looks as good as it gets. You have the two choices I listed in my first reply.

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • M mhn2

      @JonB
      I am fine with storing the number as a string. But how can I tell QJsonDocument to use my string as a number, without converting it to a double first? Should I use a custom json parser instead?

      @Axel-Spoerl
      For sake of avoiding confusion I'm only including the related parts of the code and renaming variable names to their type.

      // Some where in the dialogs constructor
      ui->lineEdit->setValidator(new QDoubleValidator());
      
      // Some where in a slot
      float value = m_ui->lineEdit->text().toFloat();
      
      // Some where in the saving json process:
      QJsonObject json;
      json["r"] = value;
      // ...
      QJsonDocument document(json);
      QByteArray data = document.toJson();
      

      These are currently the only places the value gets read and used.

      When the value of the lineEdit is 13.23, the json in the byte array says:

      {
        "r": 13.229999542236328,
        // ...
      }
      
      J.HilkJ Offline
      J.HilkJ Offline
      J.Hilk
      Moderators
      wrote on last edited by
      #6

      @mhn2 try

      json["r"] = QString::number(value, 'f', 2);
      

      Be aware of the Qt Code of Conduct, when posting : https://forum.qt.io/topic/113070/qt-code-of-conduct


      Q: What's that?
      A: It's blue light.
      Q: What does it do?
      A: It turns blue.

      JonBJ 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • J.HilkJ J.Hilk

        @mhn2 try

        json["r"] = QString::number(value, 'f', 2);
        
        JonBJ Online
        JonBJ Online
        JonB
        wrote on last edited by
        #7

        @J-Hilk QString::number() returns a string, so it will be stored as a string, which the OP says he does not want....

        1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • M mhn2

          @JonB
          I am fine with storing the number as a string. But how can I tell QJsonDocument to use my string as a number, without converting it to a double first? Should I use a custom json parser instead?

          @Axel-Spoerl
          For sake of avoiding confusion I'm only including the related parts of the code and renaming variable names to their type.

          // Some where in the dialogs constructor
          ui->lineEdit->setValidator(new QDoubleValidator());
          
          // Some where in a slot
          float value = m_ui->lineEdit->text().toFloat();
          
          // Some where in the saving json process:
          QJsonObject json;
          json["r"] = value;
          // ...
          QJsonDocument document(json);
          QByteArray data = document.toJson();
          

          These are currently the only places the value gets read and used.

          When the value of the lineEdit is 13.23, the json in the byte array says:

          {
            "r": 13.229999542236328,
            // ...
          }
          
          J.HilkJ Offline
          J.HilkJ Offline
          J.Hilk
          Moderators
          wrote on last edited by
          #8

          @mhn2 said in How to avoid floating point problems?:

          @JonB
          I am fine with storing the number as a string

          I read this as storing it in the json file as string


          Be aware of the Qt Code of Conduct, when posting : https://forum.qt.io/topic/113070/qt-code-of-conduct


          Q: What's that?
          A: It's blue light.
          Q: What does it do?
          A: It turns blue.

          JonBJ 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • J.HilkJ J.Hilk

            @mhn2 said in How to avoid floating point problems?:

            @JonB
            I am fine with storing the number as a string

            I read this as storing it in the json file as string

            JonBJ Online
            JonBJ Online
            JonB
            wrote on last edited by
            #9

            @J-Hilk
            The whole point of this conversation is that the OP knows he can store "13.23" so it outputs like that to the file. Which will be read as a string. Which may not be right for the receiving program. He wants it to output 13.23 to the file. Which as he has discovered is not going to happen....

            J.HilkJ 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • M Offline
              M Offline
              mhn2
              wrote on last edited by
              #10

              Well it seems like I either have to accept the floating point problem or use strings to store the number in json.

              I will discuss this with my other team members and settle on one of these.

              Thanks to everyone (especially JonB) for helping!

              JonBJ 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • M mhn2 has marked this topic as solved on
              • M mhn2

                Well it seems like I either have to accept the floating point problem or use strings to store the number in json.

                I will discuss this with my other team members and settle on one of these.

                Thanks to everyone (especially JonB) for helping!

                JonBJ Online
                JonBJ Online
                JonB
                wrote on last edited by
                #11

                @mhn2
                My inclination is to store it as a number, and accept the precision. It should not be your job to convert to strings when it's a number. I think you can assume that if (Qt) JSON outputs 13.23 this way then any other JSON reader will be convert the 13.2299... back in just the same way. I imagine this is anticipated/standard in JSON data numeric transfer, else everyone else would come up against this issue.

                M 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • JonBJ JonB

                  @J-Hilk
                  The whole point of this conversation is that the OP knows he can store "13.23" so it outputs like that to the file. Which will be read as a string. Which may not be right for the receiving program. He wants it to output 13.23 to the file. Which as he has discovered is not going to happen....

                  J.HilkJ Offline
                  J.HilkJ Offline
                  J.Hilk
                  Moderators
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #12

                  @JonB I seriously fail to conclude that from what was written so far.

                  Anyway there's still the option of post processing.

                  Save everything as a String, Mark/Store the stringyfied numbers in a list. parse the previously written json file into memory, remove "from marked string/numbers, save the file back.


                  Be aware of the Qt Code of Conduct, when posting : https://forum.qt.io/topic/113070/qt-code-of-conduct


                  Q: What's that?
                  A: It's blue light.
                  Q: What does it do?
                  A: It turns blue.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • JonBJ JonB

                    @mhn2
                    My inclination is to store it as a number, and accept the precision. It should not be your job to convert to strings when it's a number. I think you can assume that if (Qt) JSON outputs 13.23 this way then any other JSON reader will be convert the 13.2299... back in just the same way. I imagine this is anticipated/standard in JSON data numeric transfer, else everyone else would come up against this issue.

                    M Offline
                    M Offline
                    mhn2
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #13

                    @JonB
                    Yes it is very likely that the application that will read the json will have the same precision problems, however it might be better to not risk it. Whether or not I should take this risk is something I'm going to have to discuss.

                    JonBJ 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • M Offline
                      M Offline
                      mhn2
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #14

                      @J-Hilk
                      This process can be complicated (For example if two different parts of the json are using the same property name, or if custom user data is getting stored as string)

                      I think it would be easier to use a custom parser instead than to do this.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      1
                      • M mhn2

                        @JonB
                        Yes it is very likely that the application that will read the json will have the same precision problems, however it might be better to not risk it. Whether or not I should take this risk is something I'm going to have to discuss.

                        JonBJ Online
                        JonBJ Online
                        JonB
                        wrote on last edited by JonB
                        #15

                        @mhn2
                        Certainly you should discuss. But I believe you are laboring under a misunderstanding/assumption here. You are thinking if you can get the number 13.23 or the string "13.23" into the file that will make it so when the reader fetches it it will convert those digits which make up a string (even if it's stored as a 13.23 number the JSON will still have to convert string to number when it reads it) to exactly the binary, floating point representation of 13.23. But it won't, because (I believe) you are showing that the IEEE binary representation of 13.23 simply is 13.229999542236328, and that's as close as you going to get whatever you do.

                        1 Reply Last reply
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