Returning a float variable loses its precision in C

Question

Hi yes I am having some trouble with the following code. The function above executes and outputs 132.87 to the float variable but when I return this back to the main program the output is then shortened to 132.00 This is obviously something simple I am missing can anyone help me with this one please? Much appreciated. ``` calcSigmaXY(max) { int count= 0; float runTotal = 0, product[max]; for (count = 1; count <= max; count++) { product[count] = pointData[count][1] * pointData[count][2]; runTotal = runTotal + product[count]; } printf("
runtotal is %4.2f",runTotal); // outputs 132.87 return(runTotal); } int maxPoints = 6; float sigmaXY = 0, sigmaXY = calcSigmaXY(maxPoints); printf("
sigmaxy set to : %4.2f
", sigmaXY); // outputs 132.00 ```

Accepted Answer

In some C versions, return values & types default to `int`, so by declaring your function like

```
calcSigmaXY(max) 
```

you're basically saying

```
int calcSigmaXY(max) 
```

ergo the loss of precision - the `float` you return is converted to an `int`. Declare your function as

```
float calcSigmaXY(max) {
      //...
}
```

Returning a float variable loses its precision in C

Solution

Problem