Fixed-precision decimal numbers, where the precision is carried with the numbers at run-time.

The Decimal type is mainly intended for doing financial arithmetic where the number of decimal places may not be known at compile time (e.g. for a program that handles both Yen and Dollars) and the application must not drop pennies on the floor. For instance if you have to divide $10 between three people then one of them has to get $3.34.

The number of decimal places in a value is represented as a Word8, allowing for up to 255 decimal places. Functions preserve precision. Addition and subtraction operators return a result with the precision of the most precise argument, so 2.3 + 5.678 = 7.978. Multiplication and division use whatever precision is necessary up to 255 decimal places.

Data.Decimal includes a set of QuickCheck properties which act as both tests and a formal specification. To run the tests do:

cabal configure --enable-tests cabal build cabal test

or

stack test