Round-off error

A round-off error, also called rounding error, is the difference between the calculated approximation of a number and its exact mathematical value due to rounding. This is a form of quantization error. One of the goals of numerical analysis is to estimate errors in calculations, including round-off error, when using approximation equations and/or algorithms, especially when using finitely many digits to represent real numbers (which in theory have infinitely many digits).

When a sequence of calculations subject to rounding error is made, errors may accumulate, sometimes dominating the calculation. In ill-conditioned problems, significant error may accumulate.

Representation error

The error introduced by attempting to represent a number using a finite string of digits is a form of round-off error called representation error. Here are some examples of representation error in decimal representations:

Increasing the number of digits allowed in a representation reduces the magnitude of possible round-off errors, but any representation limited to finitely many digits will still cause some degree of round-off error for uncountably many real numbers. Additional digits used for intermediary steps of a calculation are known as guard digits.