Message: 4 Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2004 23:59:06 -0600 From: Dar Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: range error - or "How to take the factorial of a huge number" To: How to use Revolution <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
On Thursday, April 8, 2004, at 11:15 PM, Jim Witte wrote:
I don't know how you get around this one though, short of using a CPS'd function as an XCMD.
I have used collections of numbers to represent numbers.
Huh? You guys are striking directly at the heart of my math disability! So are you suggesting that if I want to raise a number to the power of 200 that I divide the exponent by 2 and then use the two smaller resulting exponents to perform the calculations and then somehow sum the results? Duh. I'm sure it is becoming amusingly obvious to many on this list that there is a really good reason I didn't become an engineer. :-).
There *might* be a way to split the number up into smaller units, and then combine them at the end in some way, but I have no idea how - I'm thinking of the "Saturn" BCD architecture used by some calculators, and the recursive fast-multiply algorithm for multiplying truly huge numbers (hundreds or thousands of digits each..)
Hmmm. It is not clear to me whether Stephen needs more digits or just a greater range, that is, a greater exponent in is scientific notation.
Dar Scott
I think you are absolutely right Dar.
range is certainly the immediate problem for me. When I attempt this
put format("%1.2e",(2027^93)) into msg I get "3.45e+307" :-) , great.
if I try
put format("%1.2e",(2027^94)) into msg I get INF :-( , bummer.
I would like the ability to raise a number to up to 250th power.
I could probably get by with 93 if I had to although it will place some limitations on the application I am building. Oh well ...
Thanks for the insights in any case.
Regards
Steve
Stephen R. Messimer, PA
208 1st Ave. South
Escanaba, MI 49829
http://www.messimercomputing.com
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