Re: Simultaneous "compact", "short e" and "output_precision(2)"

[Paul]

Mike Miller <mtmiller <at> ieee.org> writes:
>On Tue, Aug 20, 2013 at 14:48:07 +0000, Paul wrote:
>> The difficulty with suggesting wording is that I'm surmising what
>> the explanation is.  I don't really know.
> 
> I can easily confirm in the code whatever wording you might suggest,
> I just haven't had time to look into it yet.
> 
>> Also, my hypothesis doesn't really explain the interaction between
>> the format statement and the output_precision invocation, basically
>> preventing all features from being in effect at the same time.
> 
> Can you explain what you mean by that? I don't see any unexpected or
> confusing behavior about the interaction between format and
> output_precision.

Hi, Mike,

None of the 3 examples of code in my original post simultaneously 
activates "format compact", "format short e" and "output_precision(2)".  
The exact circumstances and statement ordering giving rise to which 
combination of effects is a black box from my point of view.

I might have misunderstood you, so please bear with me and correct me if I 
did.

Rather than trying to document the behaviour of a black box, I think it 
would be better to document the designed-for behaviour (the intended 
behaviour) and note the departures in reality.  I've described what I 
encountered, but I can't say that I've caught all the possible combinations.