[computer-go] Re: Remarks on the Indigo-Paper

[Dave Dyer]

>  I always made sure I had a
>deterministic mode in my programs - a mode where you could count on a
>certain exact result (node count, score, move)  This was useful when you
>were optimizing the program and not changing the evaluation for
>instance.  


One gotcha - a marginal one, but one I guarantee with strike
sooner or later - is that no evaluation that uses floating
point numbers can ever be relied on to be deterministic.

One of the endearing characteristics of floating point numbers
is that A+B+C != A+C+B, so even if you add up all the same factors,
unless you always add them in exactly the same order, you're
screwed.