this is a nonstandard function so it's not clear what conditions it
should satisfy. my intent is that it be fast and exact for positive
integral exponents when the result fits in the destination type, and
fast and correctly rounded for small negative integral exponents.
otherwise we aim for at most 1ulp error; it seems to differ from pow
by at most 1ulp and it's often 2-5 times faster than pow.
Szabolcs Nagy