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(libc.info)Infinity and NaN

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Infinity and NaN
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   IEEE 754 floating point numbers can represent positive or negative
infinity, and "NaN" (not a number).  These three values arise from
calculations whose result is undefined or cannot be represented
accurately.  You can also deliberately set a floating-point variable to
any of them, which is sometimes useful.  Some examples of calculations
that produce infinity or NaN:

     1/0 = oo
     log (0) = -oo
     sqrt (-1) = NaN

   When a calculation produces any of these values, an exception also
occurs; see Note: FP Exceptions.

   The basic operations and math functions all accept infinity and NaN
and produce sensible output.  Infinities propagate through calculations
as one would expect: for example, 2 + oo = oo, 4/oo = 0, atan (oo) =
pi/2.  NaN, on the other hand, infects any calculation that involves
it.  Unless the calculation would produce the same result no matter
what real value replaced NaN, the result is NaN.

   In comparison operations, positive infinity is larger than all values
except itself and NaN, and negative infinity is smaller than all values
except itself and NaN.  NaN is "unordered": it is not equal to, greater
than, or less than anything, _including itself_. `x == x' is false if
the value of `x' is NaN.  You can use this to test whether a value is
NaN or not, but the recommended way to test for NaN is with the `isnan'
function (Note: Floating Point Classes).  In addition, `<', `>',
`<=', and `>=' will raise an exception when applied to NaNs.

   `math.h' defines macros that allow you to explicitly set a variable
to infinity or NaN.

 - Macro: float INFINITY
     An expression representing positive infinity.  It is equal to the
     value produced  by mathematical operations like `1.0 / 0.0'.
     `-INFINITY' represents negative infinity.

     You can test whether a floating-point value is infinite by
     comparing it to this macro.  However, this is not recommended; you
     should use the `isfinite' macro instead.  Note: Floating Point
     Classes.

     This macro was introduced in the ISO C99 standard.

 - Macro: float NAN
     An expression representing a value which is "not a number".  This
     macro is a GNU extension, available only on machines that support
     the "not a number" value--that is to say, on all machines that
     support IEEE floating point.

     You can use `#ifdef NAN' to test whether the machine supports NaN.
     (Of course, you must arrange for GNU extensions to be visible,
     such as by defining `_GNU_SOURCE', and then you must include
     `math.h'.)

   IEEE 754 also allows for another unusual value: negative zero.  This
value is produced when you divide a positive number by negative
infinity, or when a negative result is smaller than the limits of
representation.  Negative zero behaves identically to zero in all
calculations, unless you explicitly test the sign bit with `signbit' or
`copysign'.