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Mathematica > Precision & Accuracy Control >

Built-in Mathematica Symbol

SetPrecision

SetPrecision[expr, p]
yields a version of expr in which all numbers have been set to have precision p.

When SetPrecision is used to increase the precision of a number, the number is padded with zeros. The zeros are taken to be in base 2. In base 10, the additional digits are usually not zeros.

SetPrecision returns an arbitrary-precision number, even if the precision requested is less than $MachinePrecision.

SetPrecision[expr, MachinePrecision] converts all numbers in expr to machine precision.

If expr contains machine-precision numbers, SetPrecision[expr, p] can give results which differ from one computer system to another.

SetPrecision will first expose any hidden extra digits in the internal binary representation of a number, and only after these are exhausted add trailing zeros. »