Distinguish zero and negative zero

Question

I have run into a situation in my code where a function returns a double, and it is possible for this double to be a zero, a negative zero, or another value entirely. I need to distinguish between zero and negative zero, but the default double comparison does not. Due to the format of doubles, C++ does not allow for comparison of doubles using bitwise operators, so I am unsure how to procede. How can I distinguish between the two?

Answer 1

Call std::signbit() to determine the state of the sign bit.