A new C++ STL-styled numeric constants interface will enable migrating off older inconsistent language features and make cleaner more concise code.
The HLSL Infinity constant syntax violates C token rules by using the #
character, and is not consistent with C or C++ language styling. This causes
technical challenges by using reserved preprocessor tokens, but also makes the
feature foreign and less approachable in a C-like language.
Starting with adoption the #INF token becomes unsupported preferring instead a
new library class modeled after the C++ std::numeric_limits classes. Below is
the proposed interface for the hlsl::numeric_limits class:
template<typename Ty>
class numeric_limits {
public:
static Ty min();
static Ty max();
static Ty lowest();
static Ty denorm_min();
// Implement infinity in terms of __builtin_huge_val
static Ty infinity();
static Ty negative_infinity();
static Ty quiet_NaN();
static Ty signaling_NaN();
}
This enables a straightforward code transformation from 1.#INF to
hlsl::numeric_limits<float>::infinity(). While the later is more verbose, it
is more clear and provides a more consistent C++ style.