Does MATLAB support quadruple precision - 128-bit floating point arithmetics?

I need more precision than offered by the standard double data type in MATLAB. I am looking for a quadruple precision in MATLAB.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

The floating point arithmetic format that occupies 128 bits of storage is known as binary128 or quadruple precision.

The following blog post by MathWorks' Chief Mathematician Cleve Moler describes an implementation of quadruple precision programmed entirely in the MATLAB language:

https://blogs.mathworks.com/cleve/2017/05/22/quadruple-precision-128-bit-floating-point-arithmetic/

Please note that quadruple precision is not available as of MATLAB 2024b. As a workaround, it is possible to obtain more precision using Variable Precision Arithmetic from the Symbolic Math Toolbox. Another possibility is to use the Fixed-Point Toolbox to obtain more precision. Note that in either case, the numbers will not be of the floating point format.

[Walter Roberson]

Note: the internal representation of variable precision numbers is not documented. It is believed that it has something to do with 30 bit chunks held within 32 bit numbers.