1 definition found From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]: Not-a-Number(NaN) An {IEEE floating point} representation for the result of a numerical operation which cannot return a valid number value. A NaN can result from multiplying an infinity by a zero, or from subtracting one infinity from another [what else?]. NaN is encoded as a special {bit pattern} [what pattern?] which would otherwise represent a {floating-point} number. It is used to signal error returns where other mechanisms are not convenient, e.g. a hardware {floating-point unit} and to allow errors to propagate through a calculation. Similar bit patterns represent positive and negative {overflow} and {underflow} and the positive and negative infinities resulting from {division by zero}. {Bit patterns (http://www.psc.edu/general/software/packages/ieee/ieee.html)}. [ANSI/IEEE Std 754-1985]. [Correct?] (2001-04-01)
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