### 10.1 Introduction ¶

Blitz++ provides a set of functions to access numeric properties of intrinsic types. They are provided as an alternative to the somewhat klunky `numeric_limits<T>::yadda_yadda` syntax provided by the ISO/ANSI C++ standard. Where a similar Fortran 90 function exists, the same name has been used.

The argument in all cases is a dummy of the appropriate type.

All functions described in this section assume that `numeric_limits<T>` has been specialized for the appropriate case. If not, the results are not useful. The standard requires that `numeric_limits<T>` be specialized for all the intrinsic numeric types (float, double, int, bool, unsigned int, etc.).

To use these functions, you must first include the header `<blitz/numinquire.h>`. Also, note that these functions may be unavailable if your compiler is non-ANSI compliant. If the preprocessor symbol `BZ_HAVE_NUMERIC_LIMITS` is false, then these functions are unavailable.