Minimum Data Type

Determine the minimum array data type of the closest "kind" necessary for storing a provided scalar value.

Installation

npm install @stdlib/array-min-dtype

Alternatively,

To load the package in a website via a script tag without installation and bundlers, use the ES Module available on the esm branch (see README).
If you are using Deno, visit the deno branch (see README for usage intructions).
For use in Observable, or in browser/node environments, use the Universal Module Definition (UMD) build available on the umd branch (see README).

The branches.md file summarizes the available branches and displays a diagram illustrating their relationships.

To view installation and usage instructions specific to each branch build, be sure to explicitly navigate to the respective README files on each branch, as linked to above.

Usage

var minDataType = require( '@stdlib/array-min-dtype' );

minDataType( value )

Returns the minimum array data type of the closest "kind" necessary for storing a provided scalar value.

var dt = minDataType( 3.141592653589793 );
// returns 'float32'

dt = minDataType( -3 );
// returns 'int8'

dt = minDataType( 3 );
// returns 'uint8'

dt = minDataType( '3' );
// returns 'generic'

Notes

The function does not provide precision guarantees for non-integer-valued numbers. In other words, the function returns the smallest possible floating-point (i.e., inexact) data type for storing numbers having decimals.

Examples

var roundn = require( '@stdlib/math-base-special-roundn' );
var randu = require( '@stdlib/random-base-randu' );
var pow = require( '@stdlib/math-base-special-pow' );
var discreteUniform = require( '@stdlib/random-base-discrete-uniform' );
var minDataType = require( '@stdlib/array-min-dtype' );

var dt;
var v;
var i;

// Generate numbers of varying magnitudes and determine the minimum data type for each value...
for ( i = 0; i < 100; i++ ) {
    v = randu() * pow( 2.0, discreteUniform( 0, 40 ) );
    if ( randu() < 0.5 ) {
        v *= -1;
    }
    v = roundn( v, discreteUniform( -1, 0 ) );
    dt = minDataType( v );
    console.log( 'min(%d) => %s', v, dt );
}

Notice

This package is part of stdlib, a standard library for JavaScript and Node.js, with an emphasis on numerical and scientific computing. The library provides a collection of robust, high performance libraries for mathematics, statistics, streams, utilities, and more.

For more information on the project, filing bug reports and feature requests, and guidance on how to develop stdlib, see the main project repository.