<p>"Real Number Type" is the class of data values that approximate real numbers in finite precision.
Often, such values are expressed in "mantissa, base, exponent" form.
Any rational number can be expressed in the form m*b^<sup>e</sup>, where m (the mantissa), b (the base), and e (the exponent) are integers.
Typically, b is chosen to be either 2 or 10, and then the values of m and e are determined given the choice of base.
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