\documentclass[article,nojss]{jss}%-- the LONGER version
%% NOTA BENE: More definitions --> further down
%%%%%%%%%%%%
%
\author{Martin M\"achler \\ ETH Zurich%
\\ April, Oct.\ 2012 {\tiny (\LaTeX'ed \today)}%---- for now
}
\title{Accurately Computing $\log(1 - \exp(-\abs{a}))$ \\
  Assessed by the \pkg{Rmpfr} package}
%% for pretty printing and a nice hypersummary also set:
\Plainauthor{Martin M\"achler} %% comma-separated
\Plaintitle{%
                     Accurately Computing log(1 - exp(.)) -- Assessed by Rmpfr}
%\VignetteIndexEntry{Accurately Computing log(1 - exp(.)) -- Assessed by Rmpfr}
%\VignetteDepends{Rmpfr}
%\VignetteDepends{gmp}
%\VignetteDepends{sfsmisc}
\SweaveOpts{engine=R,strip.white=true, width=8.5, height=6}
\SweaveOpts{pdf=FALSE, eps=FALSE, grdevice = pdfaCrop}
%      defined in R "<<preliminaries>>":     ^^^^^^^^

%% an abstract and keywords
\Abstract{In this note, we explain how $f(a) = \log(1 - e^{-a}) =\log(1 -
  \exp(-a))$ can be computed accurately, in a simple and optimal manner,
  building on the two related auxiliary functions
  \code{log1p(x)} ($=\log(1+x)$) and
  \code{expm1(x)} ($=\exp(x)-1 = e^x - 1$).
  The cutoff, $a_0$, in use in \R{} since % version 1.9.0, April
  2004, is shown to be optimal both theoretically and empirically, using
  \pkg{Rmpfr} high precision arithmetic. As an aside, we also show how to
  compute $\log\bigl(1 + e^x \bigr)$ accurately and efficiently.
}
\Keywords{Accuracy, Cancellation Error, R, MPFR, Rmpfr}
%% at least one keyword must be supplied

%% publication information
%% NOTE: Typically, this can be left commented and will be filled out by the technical editor
%% \Volume{13}
%% \Issue{9}
%% \Month{September}
%% \Year{2004}
%% \Submitdate{2004-09-29}
%% \Acceptdate{2004-09-29}

%% The address of (at least) one author should be given
%% in the following format:
\Address{
	Martin M\"achler\\
	Seminar f\"ur Statistik, HG G~16\\
	ETH Zurich\\
	8092 Zurich, Switzerland\\
	E-mail: \email{maechler@stat.math.ethz.ch}\\
	URL: \url{http://stat.ethz.ch/people/maechler}
}
%% It is also possible to add a telephone and fax number
%% before the e-mail in the following format:
%% Telephone: +43/1/31336-5053
%% Fax: +43/1/31336-734

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\usepackage[american]{babel}%for American English
\usepackage{amsmath}%sophisticated mathematical formulas with amstex (includes \text{})
\usepackage{mathtools}%fix amsmath deficiencies
\usepackage{amssymb}%sophisticated mathematical symbols with amstex (includes \mathbb{})
% \usepackage{amsthm}%theorem environments
\usepackage{bm}%for bold math symbols: \bm (= bold math)
\usepackage{enumitem}%for automatic numbering of new enumerate environments

% This is already in jss above -- but withOUT the  fontsize=\small part !!
\DefineVerbatimEnvironment{Sinput}{Verbatim}{fontsize=\small,fontshape=sl}
\DefineVerbatimEnvironment{Soutput}{Verbatim}{fontsize=\small}
\DefineVerbatimEnvironment{Scode}{Verbatim}{fontsize=\small,fontshape=sl}
%%~-~-~-~ Make space between Sinput and Soutput smaller: ~-~-~-~~-~-~-~~-~-~-~~-~-~-~~-~-~-~
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% http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/19359/reduce-space-between-sinput-and-soutput
\newlength{\FVtopsep}
\newlength{\FVpartopsep}
\newlength{\FVparskip}% <- added as "no. 3" by MMa (after reading fancyvrb doc)
\makeatletter
\FV@AddToHook{\FV@ListParameterHook}{\topsep=\FVtopsep\partopsep=\FVpartopsep\parskip=\FVparskip}
\makeatother
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%MM: When all three(!) are {0pt}, there's a large gap *after* Schunk (nothing in %between)
%--  and that (end gap) get's smaller when I set all to {1pt} -- logic??
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\setkeys{Gin}{width=\textwidth}% Sweave.sty has {width=0.8\textwidth}

\newcommand*{\R}{\proglang{R}}%{\textsf{R}}
\newcommand*{\CRANpkg}[1]{\href{http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=#1}{\pkg{#1}}}

\newcommand*{\eps}{\varepsilon}
%- \abs{ab}  -->  | ab |   ``absolut Betrag''
        \newcommand{\abs}[1]    {\left| #1 \right|}
% \renewcommand*{\S}{\operatorname*{S}}
% \newcommand*{\tS}{\operatorname*{\tilde{S}}}
% \newcommand*{\ran}{\operatorname*{ran}}
%\newcommand*{\sgn}{\operatorname*{sgn}}
\DeclareMathOperator{\sign}{sign}
% \renewcommand*{\L}{\mathcal{L}}
% \newcommand*{\Li}{\mathcal{L}^{-1}}
% \newcommand*{\LS}{\mathcal{LS}}
% \newcommand*{\LSi}{\LS^{-1}}
\renewcommand*{\O}{\mathcal{O}}
% \newcommand*{\Geo}{\operatorname*{Geo}}
% \newcommand*{\Exp}{\operatorname*{Exp}}
% \newcommand*{\Sibuya}{\operatorname*{Sibuya}}
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% \newcommand*{\Var}{\operatorname*{Var}}
% \newcommand*{\Cov}{\operatorname*{Cov}}
% \newcommand*{\Cor}{\operatorname*{Cor}}
%
% \newcommand*{\loglp}{\operatorname*{log1p}}
% \newcommand*{\expml}{\operatorname*{expm1}}
%% cannot use "1" in latex macro name -- use "l":
\newcommand*{\loglp}{\mathrm{log1p}}
\newcommand*{\expml}{\mathrm{expm1}}

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\begin{document}
%% include your article here, just as usual
%% Note that you should use the \pkg{}, \proglang{} and \code{} commands.
% \section[About Java]{About \proglang{Java}}
%% Note: If there is markup in \(sub)section, then it has to be escape as above.
%%
%% Note: These are explained in '?RweaveLatex' :
<<preliminaries, echo=FALSE, results=hide>>=
## Our custom graphics device:
pdfaCrop <- function(name, width, height, ...) {
    fn <- paste(name, "pdf", sep = ".")
    if(FALSE)## debug
        cat("pdfaCrop: fn = ",fn,"; call:\n\t",deparse(match.call()),"\n")
    grDevices::pdf(fn, width = width, height = height, onefile=FALSE)# ...)
    assign(".pdfaCrop.name", fn, envir = globalenv())
}
## This is used automagically :
pdfaCrop.off <- function() {
    dev.off()# for the pdf
    f <- get(".pdfaCrop.name", envir = globalenv())
    ## and now crop that file:
    pdfcrop <- "pdfcrop" # relying on PATH - fix if needed
    pdftex  <- "pdftex"  # relying on PATH - fix if needed
    system(paste(pdfcrop, "--pdftexcmd", pdftex, f, f, "1>/dev/null 2>&1"),
           intern=FALSE)
}
op.orig <-
options(width = 75,
	SweaveHooks= list(fig=function() par(mar=c(5.1, 4.1, 1.1, 2.1))),
	digits = 5,
	useFancyQuotes = "TeX",
	## for JSS, but otherwise MM does not like it:
	## prompt="R> ",
	continue="  ")# 2 (or 3) blanks: use same length as 'prompt'

if((p <- "package:fortunes") %in% search())
    try(detach(p, unload=TRUE, char=TRUE))
Sys.setenv(LANGUAGE = "en")
if(.Platform$OS.type != "windows")
  Sys.setlocale("LC_MESSAGES","C")
if(getRversion() < "2.15")
    paste0 <- function(...) paste(..., sep = '')
library("sfsmisc")# e.g., for eaxis()
library("Rmpfr")
.plot.BC <- FALSE # no Box-Cox plot
@
%\section[Introduction]{Introduction \small~\footnote{\mythanks}}
\section{Introduction: Not log() nor exp(), but log1p() and expm1()}

In applied mathematics, it has been known for a very long time that direct
computation of $\log(1 + x)$ suffers from severe cancellation (in ``$1 +
x$'') whenever $\abs{x} \ll 1$, and for that reason, we have provided
\code{log1p(x)} in \R{}, since R version 1.0.0 (released, Feb.~29, 2000). Similarly,
\code{log1p()} has been provided by C math libraries and has become part of C
language standards around the same time, see, for example, \citet{ieee04:log1p}.

Analogously, since \R{}~1.5.0 (April 2002), the function \code{expm1(x)}
computes $\exp(x) - 1 = e^x - 1$ accurately also for $\abs{x} \ll 1$, where $e^x
\approx 1$ is (partially) cancelled by ``$-\: 1$''.

In both cases, a simple solution %approach
for small $\abs{x}$ is to use a few terms of the Taylor series,
as
\begin{align}
  \label{eq:Taylor-log1p}
  \loglp(x) &= \log(1 + x) = x - x^2/2 + x^3/3 -+ \dots,
  \ \mathrm{for}\ \ \abs{x} < 1, %\mathrm{and}
  \\
  \label{eq:Taylor-expm1}
  \expml(x) &= \exp(x) - 1 = x + x^2/2! + x^3/3! + \dots,
  \ \mathrm{for}\ \ \abs{x} < 1,
\end{align}
and $n!$ denotes the factorial.

We have found, however, that in some situations, the use of \code{log1p()} and
\code{expm1()} may not be sufficient to prevent loss of numerical
accuracy.  The topic of this note is to analyze the important case of computing
$\log\left(1 - e^x \right) = \log(1 - \exp(x))$ for $x < 0$, computations needed
in accurate computations of the beta, gamma, exponential, Weibull, t,
logistic, geometric and hypergeometric distributions,
%% in ~/R/D/r-devel/R/src/nmath/ :
%%  grep --color -nHEw -e '(R_Log1_Exp|R_D_LExp|R_DT_Log|R_DT_C?log)' *.?
%%  --> ~/R/Pkgs/Rmpfr/vignettes/log1mexp_grep
and % because of the latter,
even for the logit link function in logistic regression. For the beta and
gamma distributions, see, for example, % e.g.,
\citet{DidAM92}\footnote{In the Fortran source, file ``\code{708}'', also
  available as \url{http://www.netlib.org/toms/708},
  the function ALNREL() computes log1p() and REXP() computes expm1().},
and further references mentioned in \R{}'s \code{?pgamma} and
\code{?pbeta} help pages.
For the logistic distribution, $F_L(x) = \frac{e^x}{1+e^x}$, the inverse,
aka quantile function is $q_L(p) = \mathrm{logit}(p) := \log \frac{p}{1-p}$.
If the argument $p$ is provided on the log scale,
$\tilde p := \log p$, hence $\tilde p \le 0$, we need
\begin{align}
  \label{eq:qlogis}
  \mathtt{qlogis}(\tilde p,\: \mathtt{log.p=TRUE}) =
  q_L\!\left(e^{\tilde p}\right) = \mathrm{logit}\!\left(e^{\tilde p}\right)
%  = \log\Bigl(\frac{e^{\tilde p}}{1-e^{\tilde p}}\Bigr)
  = \log      \frac{e^{\tilde p}}{1-e^{\tilde p}}
  = \tilde p - \log\left(1 - e^{\tilde p} \right),
\end{align}
and the last term is exactly the topic of this note.

\section{log1p() and expm1() for log(1 - exp(x))}
Contrary to what one would expect, for computing
$\log\left(1 - e^x \right) = \log(1 - \exp(x))$ for $x < 0$, neither
\begin{align}
  \label{eq:f.expm1} \log(1 - \exp(x)) &= \log(-\expml(x)), \ \ \mathrm{nor}\\
  \label{eq:f.log1p} \log(1 - \exp(x)) &= \loglp(-\exp(x)),
\end{align}
are uniformly sufficient for numerical evaluation.
%% 1
In (\ref{eq:f.log1p}), when $x$ approaches $0$, $\exp(x)$ approaches $1$
and $\loglp(-\exp(x))$ loses accuracy.  
%% 2
In (\ref{eq:f.expm1}), when $x$ is large, $\expml(x)$
approaches $-1$ and similarly loses accuracy.
Because of this, we will propose to use a function \code{log1mexp(x)}
which uses either \code{expm1} (\ref{eq:f.expm1}) or
\code{log1p} (\ref{eq:f.log1p}), where appropriate.  Already in
\R{}~1.9.0 (\cite{R-190}), % (April 2004)
% now, both  R_Log1_Exp() and --> R_D_LExp(x) :=  (log_p ? R_Log1_Exp(x) : log1p(-x))
we have defined the macro \verb|R_D_LExp(x)| to provide these two cases %branches
automatically\footnote{look for ``log(1-exp(x))'' in
  \url{http://svn.r-project.org/R/branches/R-1-9-patches/src/nmath/dpq.h}}.
% R-1.8.1: pgamma(30,100, lower=FALSE, log=TRUE)  gave 0 instead of -...

To investigate the accuracy losses empirically, we make use of the \R{} package
\CRANpkg{Rmpfr} for arbitrarily accurate numerical computation, and use the
following simple functions:
<<def-t3, echo=FALSE>>=
library(Rmpfr)

t3.l1e <- function(a)
{
    c(def   = log(1 - exp(-a)),
      expm1 = log( -expm1(-a)),
      log1p = log1p(-exp(-a)))
}
@
<<def-leg, echo=FALSE>>=
leg <- local({ r <- body(t3.l1e)[[2]]; r[[1]] <- `expression`; eval(r) })
## will be used below
@
<<def-test-2, echo=FALSE, eval=FALSE>>=
##' The relative Error of log1mexp computations:
relE.l1e <- function(a, precBits = 1024) {
    stopifnot(is.numeric(a), length(a) == 1, precBits > 50)
    da <- t3.l1e(a)  ## double precision
    a. <- mpfr(a, precBits=precBits)
    ## high precision *and* using the correct case:
    mMa <- if(a <= log(2)) log(-expm1(-a.)) else log1p(-exp(-a.))
    structure(as.numeric(1 - da/mMa), names = names(da))
}
@
<<def-test-funs>>=
<<def-t3>>
<<def-test-2>>
@
where the last one, \code{relE.l1e()} computes the relative error of three
different ways to compute  $\log(1 - \exp(-a))$ for positive $a$
(instead of computing   $\log(1 - \exp(x))$ for negative $x$).

%% TODO? "cache = TRUE": ---
<<comp-big,eval=FALSE, echo=FALSE>>=
a.s <- 2^seq(-55, 10, length = 256)
ra.s <- t(sapply(a.s, relE.l1e))
<<bigpic-show, eval=FALSE>>=
<<comp-big>>
cbind(a.s, ra.s) # comparison of the three approaches
<<bigpic-do, echo=FALSE>>=
<<comp-big>>
capture.and.write(cbind(a.s, ra.s), 8, last = 6)
@
This is revealing: Neither method, log1p or expm1, is uniformly good enough.
Note that for large $a$, the relative errors evaluate to \code{1}. This
is because all three double precision methods give 0, \emph{and} that is
the best approximation in double precision (but not in higher \code{mpfr}
precision), hence no problem at all, and we can restrict ourselves to
smaller $a$ (smaller than about 710, here).% < 709.78271289338403 (lynne 64b)
<<drop-large-a, echo=FALSE>>=
ii <- a.s < 710
a.s  <-  a.s[ii]
ra.s <- ra.s[ii, ]
@

What about really small $a$'s?  Note here that
<<a.small>>=
t3.l1e(1e-20)
as.numeric(t3.l1e(mpfr(1e-20, 256)))
@
% ##    expm1      def    log1p
% ## -46.0517     -Inf     -Inf
% as.numeric():
% ## [1] -46.0517 -46.0517 -46.0517
both the default and the \code{log1p} method return \code{-Inf},
so, indeed,  the \code{expm1} method is absolutely needed here.

Figure~\ref{fig:bigpic} visualizes the relative errors\footnote{%
  Absolute value of relative errors,
  $\abs{(\hat{f}(a) - f(a)) / f(a)} = \abs{1 - \hat{f}(a)/f(a)}$,
  where $f(a) = \mathrm{log1mexp}(a)$ (\ref{eq:log1mexp}) is computed
  accurately by a 1024 bit \pkg{Rmpfr} computation}
 of the three methods.
Note that the default basically gives the maximum of the two methods' errors,
whereas the final \code{log1mexp()} function will have (approximately)
minimal error of the two.
%% --- Define figure_1 here ------------------------------
<<bigpict-setup, eval=FALSE, echo=FALSE>>=
par(mar = c(4.1,4.1,0.6,1.6))
cc <- adjustcolor(c(4,1,2),.8, red.f=.7)
lt <- c("solid","33","3262")
ll <- c(.7, 1.5, 2)
@
%% main = "|relative errors| of three methods for log(1 - exp(-a))"
<<bigpict-def, eval=FALSE>>=
matplot(a.s, abs(ra.s), type = "l", log = "xy",
        col=cc, lty=lt, lwd=ll, xlab = "a", ylab = "", axes=FALSE)
legend("top", leg, col=cc, lty=lt, lwd=ll, bty="n")
draw.machEps <- function(alpha.f = 1/3, col = adjustcolor("black", alpha.f)) {
    abline(h = .Machine$double.eps, col=col, lty=3)
    axis(4, at=.Machine$double.eps, label=quote(epsilon[c]), las=1, col.axis=col)
}
eaxis(1); eaxis(2); draw.machEps(0.4)
@
%% TODO? "cache = TRUE":  echo=FALSE: do not show already, but need (a.,ra2)
<<zoomin-comp, echo=FALSE>>=
a. <- (1:400)/256
ra <- t(sapply(a., relE.l1e))
ra2 <- ra[,-1]
@
\begin{figure}[htb!]
\centering
% increasing width --> effective LaTeX *height* will decrease
<<bigpict-fig, fig=TRUE, echo=FALSE>>=
<<bigpict-setup>>
<<bigpict-def>>
## draw the zoom-in region into the plot:
yl <- range(pmax(1e-18, abs(ra2)))
rect(min(a.), yl[1], max(a.), yl[2],
     col= adjustcolor("black", .05), border="gray", pch = 5)
@
\setcapwidth{\textwidth}%
  \caption[Relative errors of log1mexp() approximations]{%
    Relative errors$^{*}$ of the default, $\log(1 - e^{-a})$, and the two methods
    ``\code{expm1}'' $\log(-\expml(-a))$ and ``\code{log1p}'' $\loglp(-\exp(-a))$.
    Figure~\ref{fig:zoomin-pic} will be a zoom into the gray rectangular region
    where all three curves are close.}
  \label{fig:bigpic}
\end{figure}
In Figure~\ref{fig:zoomin-pic} below, we zoom into the region where all
methods have about the same (good) accuracy.
The region is the rectangle defined by the ranges of \code{a.} and \code{ra2}:
<<zoomin-show, eval=FALSE>>=
<<zoomin-comp>>
@
In addition to zooming in Figure~\ref{fig:bigpic}, we want to smooth the
two curves, using a method assuming
approximately normal errors. Notice however that neither the original,
nor the log-transformed values have approximately symmetric errors, so
we use  \code{MASS::boxcox()} to determine the ``correct'' power transformation,
<<boxcox>>=
da <- cbind(a = a., as.data.frame(ra2))
library(MASS)
bc1 <- boxcox(abs(expm1) ~ a, data = da, lambda = seq(0,1, by=.01), plotit=.plot.BC)
bc2 <- boxcox(abs(log1p) ~ a, data = da, lambda = seq(0,1, by=.01), plotit=.plot.BC)
c(with(bc1, x[which.max(y)]),
  with(bc2, x[which.max(y)]))## optimal powers
## ==> taking ^ (1/3) :
s1 <- with(da, smooth.spline(a, abs(expm1)^(1/3), df = 9))
s2 <- with(da, smooth.spline(a, abs(log1p)^(1/3), df = 9))
@
i.e, the optimal boxcox exponent turns out to be close to $\frac 1 3$,
which we use for smoothing in a ``zoom--in'' of Figure~\ref{fig:bigpic}.
Then, the crossover point of the two curves already suggests that the cutoff, $a_0 = \log 2$ is empirically very close to
optimal.
<<zoom-in-def-1, eval=FALSE>>=
matplot(a., abs(ra2), type = "l", log = "y", # ylim = c(-1,1)*1e-12,
        col=cc[-1], lwd=ll[-1], lty=lt[-1],
        ylim = yl, xlab = "a", ylab = "", axes=FALSE)
legend("topright", leg[-1], col=cc[-1], lwd=ll[-1], lty=lt[-1], bty="n")
eaxis(1); eaxis(2); draw.machEps()
lines(a., predict(s1)$y ^ 3, col=cc[2], lwd=2)
lines(a., predict(s2)$y ^ 3, col=cc[3], lwd=2)
@
%% no title here: main = "|relative errors| of two methods for log(1 - exp(-a))")
\enlargethispage{5ex}
\begin{figure}[hbt!]
\centering
<<zoom-in-fig, fig=TRUE, width=9, echo=FALSE>>=
cl2 <- adjustcolor("slateblue", 1/2)# (adj: lwd=3) # the color for "log(2)"
par(mar = c(4.1,4.1,0.6,1.6))

<<zoom-in-def-1>>

abline(v = log(2), col=cl2, lty="9273", lwd=2.5)
cl2. <- adjustcolor(cl2, 2)
axis(1, at=log(2), label=quote(a[0] == log~2), las=1,
     col.axis=cl2.,col=cl2, lty="9273", lwd=2.5)
## what system is it ?
sysInf <- Sys.info()[c("sysname", "release", "nodename", "machine")]
mtext(with(as.list(sysInf),
	   paste0(sysname," ",release,"(",substr(nodename,1,16),") -- ",
		  machine)),
      side=1, adj=1, line=2.25, cex = 3/4)
@
\setcapwidth{\textwidth}%
  \caption{A ``zoom in'' of Figure~\ref{fig:bigpic} showing the region
    where the two basic methods, ``\code{expm1}'' and ``\code{log1p}'' switch their
    optimality with respect to their relative errors.  Both have small
    relative errors in this region, typically below $\eps_c :=$%
    \code{.Machine\$double.eps} $=2^{-52} \approx 2.22\cdot 10^{-16}$.
    \ \
    The smoothed curves indicate crossover close to $a = a_0 := \log 2$.}
  \label{fig:zoomin-pic}
\end{figure}

\paragraph{Why is it very plausible to take $a_0 := \log 2$ as approximately optimal cutoff?}

Already from Figure~\ref{fig:zoomin-pic}, empirically, an optimal cutoff $a_0$ is
around $0.7$.
We propose to compute
\begin{align}
  \label{eq:def-log1mexp}
  f(a) = \log\left(1 - e^{-a}\right) = \log(1 - \exp(-a)), \ \ a > 0,
\end{align}
by a new method or function \code{log1mexp(a)}.
It needs a cutoff $a_0$ between choosing
\code{expm1} for $0 < a \le a_0$  and
\code{log1p} for $a > a_0$, i.e.,
\begin{align}
  \label{eq:log1mexp}
  f(a) = \mathrm{log1mexp}(a) :=
  \begin{cases}
    \log(-\expml(-a))  &          0 <    a \le a_0  \ \ ( := \log 2 \approx 0.693) \\
    \loglp(-\exp(-a))  & \phantom{0 < {}}a  >  a_0.
  \end{cases}
\end{align}
The mathematical argument for choosing $a_0$ is quite simple, at least
informally:
In which situations does $1 - e^{-a}$ loose bits (binary digits) \emph{entirely
independently} of the computational algorithm? Well, as soon as it
``spends'' bits just to store its closeness to $1$. And that is as soon as
$e^{-a} < \frac 1 2 = 2^{-1}$, because then, at least one
bit cancels. This however is equivalent to $-a < \log(2^{-1}) = -\log(2)$ or
$a > \log 2 =: a_0$.

\section{Computation of log(1+exp(x))}
Related to $\mathrm{log1mexp}(a)=\log(1 - e^{-a})$ is the
log survival function of the logistic distribution % (see above)%: defined F_L
$\log(1 - F_L(x)) = \log\frac{1}{1+e^x} = -\log(1 + e^x) = -g(x)$, where
\begin{align}
  \label{eq:def-log1pexp}
  g(x) := \log(1 + e^x) = \loglp(e^x),
\end{align}
which has a ``$+"$'' instead of a ``$-$'', compared to $\mathrm{log1mexp}$, and
is easier to analyze and compute,
its only problem being large $x$'s where $e^x$ % = \exp x$
overflows numerically.\footnote{Indeed, for $x=710$,
  $ -g(x) = \log(1 - F_L(x)) = $ \code{plogis(710, lower=FALSE, log.p=TRUE)},
  underflowed to \code{-Inf} in \R{} versions before 2.15.1 (June 2012) from
  when on (\ref{eq:log1pexp}) has been used.}
As $g(x)= \log(1 + e^x) = \log(e^x(e^{-x} + 1)) = x + \log(1 + e^{-x})$, we see
from (\ref{eq:Taylor-log1p}) that
\begin{align}
  \label{eq:log1pexp-asym}
  g(x) = x + \log(1 + e^{-x}) = % \sim %\asymp
%%  x + e^{-x}(1 - e^{-x}/2) + \O((e^{-x})^3),
  x + e^{-x} + \O((e^{-x})^2),
\end{align}
for $x\to\infty$.
Note further, that for $x\to-\infty$, we can simplify $g(x)=\log(1 + e^x)$ to $e^x$.

A simple picture quickly reveals how different approximations behave,
where we have used \code{uniroot()} to determine the zero crossing, but will
use slightly simpler cutoffs $x_0=37$, $x_1$ and $x_2$, in (\ref{eq:log1pexp}) below:
%% Notation x_0, x_1, x_2  are related to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd cutoff in equation (10)
%%          -37  18  33.3
<<uniroot-x1>>=
## Find x0, such that  exp(x) =.= g(x) for x < x0 :
f0 <- function(x) { x <- exp(x) - log1p(exp(x))
                   x[x==0] <- -1 ; x }
u0 <- uniroot(f0, c(-100, 0), tol=1e-13)
str(u0, digits=10)
x0 <- u0[["root"]] ## -36.39022698 --- note that ~= \log(\eps_C)
all.equal(x0, -52.5 * log(2), tol=1e-13)

## Find x1, such that  x + exp(-x) =.= g(x) for x > x1 :
f1 <- function(x) { x <- (x + exp(-x)) - log1p(exp(x))
                   x[x==0] <- -1 ; x }
u1 <- uniroot(f1, c(1, 20), tol=1e-13)
str(u1, digits=10)
x1 <- u1[["root"]] ## 16.408226

## Find x2, such that  x =.= g(x)  for x > x2 :
f2 <- function(x) { x <- log1p(exp(x)) - x ; x[x==0] <- -1 ; x }
u2 <- uniroot(f2, c(5, 50), tol=1e-13)
str(u2, digits=10)
x2 <- u2[["root"]] ## 33.27835
@
%% but really the above is still ``non sense'': look at
<<log1pexp-plot, fig=TRUE, width=11, height=4>>=
par(mfcol= 1:2, mar = c(4.1,4.1,0.6,1.6), mgp = c(1.6, 0.75, 0))
curve(x+exp(-x) - log1p(exp(x)), 15, 25,   n=2^11); abline(v=x1, lty=3)
curve(log1p(exp(x)) - x,       33.1, 33.5, n=2^10); abline(v=x2, lty=3)
@

\medskip

Using double precision arithmetic, a fast and accurate computational method
is to use
\begin{align}
  \label{eq:log1pexp}
  \hat{g}(x) = \mathrm{log1pexp}(x) :=
  \begin{cases}
    \exp(x)             & x \le -37 \\
    \loglp(\exp(x))     & -37 < x \le x_1 := 18, \\
    x + \exp(-x)        & x_1 < x \le x_2 := 33.3, \\
    x                   & x > x_2,
  \end{cases}
\end{align}
where only the cutoff $x_1 = 18$ is important and the other cutoffs just
save computations.\footnote{see % the %\R{}
  plot \code{curve(log1p(exp(x)) - x, 33.1, 33.5, n=2\^{}10)}
  above, revealing a somewhat fuzzy cutoff $x_2$.}
%%--- Ok, still do a little deeper analysis for the interested R code reader
%%--- invisibly mostly (echo=FALSE) here:
<<def-test-pfuns, echo=FALSE>>=
t4p.l1e <- function(x)
{
    c(def   = log(1 + exp(x)),
      log1p = log1p(exp(x)),
      ## xlog1p = x + log1p(exp(-x)),
      xpexp = x + exp(-x),
      x = x)
}
leg <- local({ r <- body(t4p.l1e)[[2]]; r[[1]] <- `expression`; eval(r) })
##' The relative Error of log1pexp computations:
relE.pl1e <- function(x, precBits = 1024) {
    stopifnot(is.numeric(x), length(x) == 1, precBits > 50)
    dx <- t4p.l1e(x)  ## double precision
    x. <- mpfr(x, precBits=precBits)
    ## high precision *and* using the correct case:
    mMx <- if(x < 0) log1p(exp(x.)) else x. + log1p(exp(-x.))
    structure(as.numeric(1 - dx/mMx), names = names(dx))
}
<<comp-big, echo=FALSE, results=hide>>=
x.s <- seq(-100, 750, by = 5)  # <- the big picture ==> problem for default
x.s <- seq( 5, 60, length=512) # <- the zoom in     ==> *no* problem for def.
rx.s <- t(sapply(x.s, relE.pl1e))
signif(cbind(x.s, rx.s),3)
@
\begin{figure}[htb!]
  \centering %% using "blue" for the default method, *as* in Figure 1 above
<<bigpict-2-fig, fig=TRUE, echo=FALSE, height=3>>=
par(mar = c(4.1,4.1,0.6,1.6), mgp = c(1.6, 0.75, 0))
cc <- adjustcolor(c(4,1,2,3),.8, red.f=.7, blue.f=.8)
lt <- c("solid","33","3262","dotdash")
ll <- c(.7, 1.5, 2, 2)
ym <- 1e-18
yM <- 1e-13
matplot(x.s, pmax(pmin(abs(rx.s),yM),ym), type = "l", log = "y", axes=FALSE,
        ylim = c(ym,yM), col=cc, lty=lt, lwd=ll, xlab = "x", ylab = "")
legend("topright", leg, col=cc, lty=lt, lwd=ll, bty="n")
eaxis(1, at=pretty(range(x.s), n =12)); eaxis(2)
draw.machEps(0.4)
x12 <- c(18, 33.3)
abline(v=x12, col=(ct <- adjustcolor("brown", 0.6)), lty=3)
axis(1, at=x12, labels=formatC(x12), padj = -3.2, hadj = -.1, tcl = +.8,
     col=ct, col.axis=ct, col.ticks=ct)
@
% increasing width --> effective LaTeX *height* will decrease
\setcapwidth{\textwidth}%
  \caption{Relative errors (via \pkg{Rmpfr}, see footnote of Fig.~\ref{fig:bigpic})
    of four different ways to numerically compute
    $\log\bigl(1 + e^{x}\bigr)$.  Vertical bars at $x_1 = 18$ and $x_2 =
    33.3$ visualize the (2nd and 3rd) cutpoints of (\ref{eq:log1pexp}).}
  % Moved into text:|| down Note that the default method is fully accurate on this $x$ range.
  \label{fig:log1pexp}
\end{figure}
Figure~\ref{fig:log1pexp} visualizes the relative errors of the careless
``default'', $\log\bigl(1 + e^{x}\bigr)$, its straightforward correction
$\loglp\bigl(e^x\bigr)$, the intermediate approximation $x + e^{-x}$, and
the large $x$ ($ = x$), i.e., the methods in (\ref{eq:log1pexp}),
depicting that the (easy to remember) cutoffs $x_1$ and $x_2$ in
(\ref{eq:log1pexp}) are valid.
%% moved from figure caption:
Note that the default method is fully accurate on this $x$ range and only
problematic when $e^x$ begins to overflow, i.e., $x > e_{\mathrm{Max}}$,
which is
<<exp-overflow>>=
(eMax <- .Machine$double.max.exp * log(2))
exp(eMax * c(1, 1+1e-15))
@
where we see that indeed $e_{\mathrm{Max}} = $\code{eMax} is the maximal exponent without overflow.

\section{Conclusion}
We have used high precision arithmetic (\R{} package \pkg{Rmpfr}) to
empirically verify that computing $f(a) = \log\left(1 - e^{-a}\right)$ is
accomplished best via equation (\ref{eq:log1mexp}).
In passing, we have also shown that accurate computation of $g(x) =
\log(1+e^x)$ can be achieved via (\ref{eq:log1pexp}).
%
Note that
%% FIXME:
%% a short version of this note has been published ....
%% \cite{....}
a version of this note is available as vignette (in
\texttt{Sweave}, i.e., with complete \R{} source)
from the \pkg{Rmpfr} package vignettes.

\subsection*{Session Information}
\nopagebreak
<<sessionInfo, results=tex>>=
toLatex(sessionInfo(), locale=FALSE)
<<finalizing, echo=FALSE>>=
options(op.orig)
@
%\clearpage

\bibliography{log1mexp}

\end{document}
