The forthcoming IEEE standard 1788 for interval arithmetic

Abstract

This is a slightly expanded form of the author’s talk of the same title at SCAN 2014, Würzburg. Angled towards people who use interval numerical methods little or not at all, it briefly describes how interval arithmetic works, the mindset required to use it effectively, why an interval arithmetic standard was needed, the setting up of IEEE Working Group P1788 for the purpose, the structure of the standard it has produced, some difficulties we encountered, and the current state of the P1788 project. During production of these Proceedings the 1788 standard has been published, but the talk’s original title has been kept.