128 bit Integer type

[Brian Goetz]

New numeric types are certainly one of the motivations for Valhalla.  Obvious examples include larger and smaller versions of existing primitives (Integer128, Float16), complex numbers, and fixed-point decimals.  

There are a number of open areas with respect to such classes.  There is a significant API design effort for how new numerics will fit into the JDK; there is a dependency on nullity control to get efficient and dense numerics; there is the question of how to incorporate conversions so that new numeric types can play with old ones (e.g., widening from int32 to Integer128), there is the question of operator overloading (no, we’re not going to talk about that now), and there may be intrinsics needed to get ideal performance.  These are all experiments that will play out in Valhalla soon, but for the most part, we are still nailing down the groundwork.  

> On Jun 13, 2024, at 6:42 PM, Red IO <redio.development at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> I read somewhere that support for 128bit Integer was in the works and Valhalla was the place where it's worked on. I couldn't find a document confirming this or giving more information about the topic.
> Some of the follow up questions I had where:
> Do we get a new primitive? (probably not)
> How else is it implemented?
> Is it integrated into the language or just a library construct?
> What is the relation to Valhalla?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Great regards 
> RedIODev