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4.5 Numerical operations

See Entry Format, for a summary of the naming conventions used to specify restrictions on the types of arguments to numerical routines. The examples used in this section assume that any numerical constant written using an exact notation is indeed represented as an exact number. Some examples also assume that certain numerical constants written using an inexact notation can be represented without loss of accuracy; the inexact constants were chosen so that this is likely to be true in implementations that use flonums to represent inexact numbers.

procedure: number? object
procedure: complex? object
procedure: real? object
procedure: rational? object
procedure: integer? object

These numerical type predicates can be applied to any kind of argument, including non-numbers. They return #t if the object is of the named type, and otherwise they return #f. In general, if a type predicate is true of a number then all higher type predicates are also true of that number. Consequently, if a type predicate is false of a number, then all lower type predicates are also false of that number.3

If z is an inexact complex number, then (real? z) is true if and only if (zero? (imag-part z)) is true. If x is an inexact real number, then (integer? x) is true if and only if (= x (round x)).

(complex? 3+4i)         ⇒  #t
(complex? 3)            ⇒  #t
(real? 3)               ⇒  #t
(real? -2.5+0.0i)       ⇒  #t
(real? #e1e10)          ⇒  #t
(rational? 6/10)        ⇒  #t
(rational? 6/3)         ⇒  #t
(integer? 3+0i)         ⇒  #t
(integer? 3.0)          ⇒  #t
(integer? 8/4)          ⇒  #t

Note: The behavior of these type predicates on inexact numbers is unreliable, since any inaccuracy may affect the result.

procedure: exact? z
procedure: inexact? z

These numerical predicates provide tests for the exactness of a quantity. For any Scheme number, precisely one of these predicates is true.

procedure: exact-integer? object
procedure: exact-nonnegative-integer? object
procedure: exact-rational? object

These procedures test for some very common types of numbers. These tests could be written in terms of simpler predicates, but are more efficient.

procedure: = z1 z2 z3 …
procedure: < x1 x2 x3 …
procedure: > x1 x2 x3 …
procedure: <= x1 x2 x3 …
procedure: >= x1 x2 x3 …

These procedures return #t if their arguments are (respectively): equal, monotonically increasing, monotonically decreasing, monotonically nondecreasing, or monotonically nonincreasing.

These predicates are transitive. Note that the traditional implementations of these predicates in Lisp-like languages are not transitive.

Note: While it is not an error to compare inexact numbers using these predicates, the results may be unreliable because a small inaccuracy may affect the result; this is especially true of = and zero?. When in doubt, consult a numerical analyst.

procedure: zero? z
procedure: positive? x
procedure: negative? x
procedure: odd? x
procedure: even? x

These numerical predicates test a number for a particular property, returning #t or #f. See note above regarding inexact numbers.

procedure: max x1 x2 …
procedure: min x1 x2 …

These procedures return the maximum or minimum of their arguments.

(max 3 4)              ⇒  4    ; exact
(max 3.9 4)            ⇒  4.0  ; inexact

Note: If any argument is inexact, then the result will also be inexact (unless the procedure can prove that the inaccuracy is not large enough to affect the result, which is possible only in unusual implementations). If min or max is used to compare numbers of mixed exactness, and the numerical value of the result cannot be represented as an inexact number without loss of accuracy, then the procedure may report a violation of an implementation restriction.4

procedure: + z1 …
procedure: * z1 …

These procedures return the sum or product of their arguments.

(+ 3 4)                 ⇒  7
(+ 3)                   ⇒  3
(+)                     ⇒  0
(* 4)                   ⇒  4
(*)                     ⇒  1
procedure: - z1 z2 …
procedure: / z1 z2 …

With two or more arguments, these procedures return the difference or quotient of their arguments, associating to the left. With one argument, however, they return the additive or multiplicative inverse of their argument.

(- 3 4)                 ⇒  -1
(- 3 4 5)               ⇒  -6
(- 3)                   ⇒  -3
(/ 3 4 5)               ⇒  3/20
(/ 3)                   ⇒  1/3
procedure: 1+ z
procedure: -1+ z

(1+ z) is equivalent to (+ z 1); (-1+ z) is equivalent to (- z 1).

procedure: abs x

Returns a real number with the magnitude of x and nonnegative sign bit. If x is a NaN, then the result has nonnegative sign bit and the payload of x, and is quiet if and only if x is quiet. Never raises a floating-point exception—not even for signalling NaN.

Abs is limited to real numbers. For the complex magnitude, use magnitude instead.

(abs -7)                ⇒  7
(abs 0.)                ⇒  0.
(abs -0.)               ⇒  0.
(abs -inf.0)            ⇒  +inf.0
(abs -snan.123)         ⇒  +snan.123
(abs 1+2i)              error→
procedure: copysign x1 x2

Returns a real number with the magnitude of x1 and the sign of x2. If x1 is a NaN, then the result has the payload of x1 and is quiet if and only if x1 is quiet. Never raises a floating-point exception—not even for signalling NaN.

(copysign 123 -1)              ⇒  -123
(copysign 0. -1)               ⇒  -0.
(copysign -0. 0.)              ⇒  0.
(copysign -nan.123 0.)         ⇒  +nan.123
(copysign +snan.123 -0.)       ⇒  -snan.123
procedure: euclidean/ n1 n2
procedure: floor/ n1 n2
procedure: ceiling/ n1 n2
procedure: truncate/ n1 n2
procedure: round/ n1 n2

These procedures implement number-theoretic (integer) division. Given a numerator n1 and denominator n2, they return two values n3 and n4, respectively quotient (an integer) and remainder, such that

n1 = (n2 * n3) + n4,

0 <= |n4| < |n2|.

The procedures differ in choice of quotient and remainder:

  • euclidean/ chooses the remainder n4 to be nonnegative, so that 0 <= n4 < n2.
    (euclidean/ 15 4)       ⇒  3, 3
    (euclidean/ 13 4)       ⇒  3, 1
    (euclidean/ 13 -4)      ⇒  -3, 1
    (euclidean/ +1 4)       ⇒  0, 1
    (euclidean/ 0 4)        ⇒  0, 0
    (euclidean/ -1 4)       ⇒  -1, 3
    (euclidean/ -13 4)      ⇒  -4, 3
    (euclidean/ -13 -4)     ⇒  4, 3
    

    The quotient part of euclidean division, which can be computed without the remainder using euclidean-quotient, is an odd function of the denominator:

    (- (euclidean-quotient n1 (- n2)))
    = (euclidean-quotient n1 n2)
    

    The remainder part of euclidean division, which can be computed without the quotient using euclidean-remainder, is an even function of the denominator:

    (euclidean-remainder n1 (- n2))
    = (euclidean-remainder n1 n2)
    

    When the denominator n2 is a positive power of two, the quotient n3 of euclidean division coincides with the result of an arithmetic shift:

    (shift-right n1 s)
    = (euclidean-quotient n1 (expt 2 s))
    
  • truncate/ chooses the quotient to have absolute value n3 = floor(|n1/n2|); in other words, truncate/ rounds the quotient n3 toward zero.
    (truncate/ 15 4)        ⇒  3, 3
    (truncate/ 13 4)        ⇒  3, 1
    (truncate/ 13 -4)       ⇒  -3, 1
    (truncate/ +1 4)        ⇒  0, 1
    (truncate/ 0 4)         ⇒  0, 0
    (truncate/ -1 4)        ⇒  0, -1
    (truncate/ -13 4)       ⇒  -3, -1
    (truncate/ -13 -4)      ⇒  3, -1
    

    If the remainder n4 is nonzero, then it is negative if and only if the numerator n1 is negative. Like euclidean division, the quotient n3 is an odd function of the denominator n2 and the remainder n4 is an even function of the denominator n2.

  • floor/ chooses the quotient n3 to be floor(n1/n2); in other words, floor/ rounds the quotient n3 toward negative infinity.
    (floor/ 15 4)           ⇒  3, 3
    (floor/ 13 4)           ⇒  3, 1
    (floor/ 13 -4)          ⇒  -4, -3
    (floor/ +1 4)           ⇒  0, 1
    (floor/ 0 4)            ⇒  0, 0
    (floor/ -1 4)           ⇒  -1, 3
    (floor/ -13 4)          ⇒  -4, 3
    (floor/ -13 -4)         ⇒  3, -1
    

    If the remainder n4 is nonzero, then it is negative if and only if the denominator n2 is negative. Like euclidean division, when the denominator n2 is a positive power of two, the quotient n3 from floor/ coincides with the result of an arithmetic shift.

  • ceiling/ chooses the quotient n3 to be ceil(n1/n2); in other words, ceiling/ rounds the quotient n3 toward positive infinity.
    (ceiling/ 15 4)         ⇒  4, -1
    (ceiling/ 13 4)         ⇒  4, -3
    (ceiling/ 13 -4)        ⇒  -3, 1
    (ceiling/ +1 4)         ⇒  1, -3
    (ceiling/ 0 4)          ⇒  0, 0
    (ceiling/ -1 4)         ⇒  0, -1
    (ceiling/ -13 4)        ⇒  -3, -1
    (ceiling/ -13 -4)       ⇒  4, 3
    

    If the remainder n4 is nonzero, then it is negative if and only if the denominator n2 is nonnegative. Ceiling/ is useful for determining, given a number of units, how many blocks of a fixed number of units are needed to store that many units and how much space is wasted.

  • round/ chooses the quotient n3 to be the integer nearest to n1/n2, or if it is exactly halfway between two integers, then the nearest even integer; in other words, round/ implements the default IEEE 754 rounding mode of round-to-nearest/ties-to-even.
    (round/ 15 4)           ⇒  4, -1
    (round/ 13 4)           ⇒  3, 1
    (round/ 13 -4)          ⇒  -3, 1
    (round/ +1 4)           ⇒  0, 1
    (round/ 0 4)            ⇒  0, 0
    (round/ -1 4)           ⇒  0, -1
    (round/ -13 4)          ⇒  -3, -1
    (round/ -13 -4)         ⇒  3, -1
    

    Round/ guarantees that 0 <= |n4| < n2/2. Like euclidean division, the quotient n3 is an odd function of the denominator n2 and the remainder n4 is an even function of the denominator n2.

These procedures may also be applied to any real numbers, and are subject to inexact contagion:

(truncate/ -13 -4.0)    ⇒  3.0, -1.0   ; inexact
(floor/ 4.56 1.0)       ⇒  4.0, 0.56
(floor/ #e4.56 1)       ⇒  4, 14/25
(euclidean/ 7.853981633974483 (atan 0 -1))
                        ⇒  2.0, 1.5707963267948966

(These are not useful for precise floating-point argument reduction modulo 2\pi, e.g., in cos, sin, etc.; for that you need to represent \pi in extended precision.)

procedure: euclidean-quotient n1 n2
procedure: euclidean-remainder n1 n2
procedure: floor-quotient n1 n2
procedure: floor-remainder n1 n2
procedure: ceiling-quotient n1 n2
procedure: ceiling-remainder n1 n2
procedure: truncate-quotient n1 n2
procedure: truncate-remainder n1 n2
procedure: round-quotient n1 n2
procedure: round-remainder n1 n2

These procedures return only the quotient or remainder part of an integer division. For example, (floor/ n1 n2) is equivalent to:

(values (floor-quotient n1 n2)
        (floor-remainder n1 n2))
procedure: quotient n1 n2
procedure: remainder n1 n2
procedure: modulo n1 n2
procedure: integer-floor n1 n2
procedure: integer-ceiling n1 n2
procedure: integer-truncate n1 n2
procedure: integer-round n1 n2

Historic aliases for integer division routines, not applicable to non-integral rational or real numbers:

  • quotient is an alias for truncate-quotient
  • remainder is an alias for truncate-remainder
  • modulo is an alias for floor-remainder
  • integer-floor is an alias for floor-quotient
  • integer-ceiling is an alias for ceiling-quotient
  • integer-truncate is an alias for truncate-quotient
  • integer-round is an alias for round-quotient
procedure: integer-divide n1 n2
procedure: integer-divide-quotient qr
procedure: integer-divide-remainder qr

Historic alias for truncate/ with a special data structure instead of multiple return values, not applicable to non-integral rational or real arguments. If qr is the result of (integer-divide n1 n2), then (truncate/ n1 n2) is equivalent to:

(values (integer-divide-quotient qr)
        (integer-divide-remainder qr))
procedure: gcd n1 …
procedure: lcm n1 …

These procedures return the greatest common divisor or least common multiple of their arguments. The result is always non-negative.

(gcd 32 -36)            ⇒  4
(gcd)                   ⇒  0

(lcm 32 -36)            ⇒  288
(lcm 32.0 -36)          ⇒  288.0  ; inexact
(lcm)                   ⇒  1
procedure: modexp b e m

Modular exponentiation. Returns b^e mod m. b, e, and m must be exact integers; m must be nonzero. Mathematically equivalent to (modulo (expt b e) m), but works even for large inputs for which the intermediate (expt b e) would overflow memory.

(modexp 1234 5678 90)   ⇒  46
(modexp 2 (expt 2 1024) 299)
                        ⇒  55
procedure: numerator q
procedure: denominator q

These procedures return the numerator or denominator of their argument; the result is computed as if the argument was represented as a fraction in lowest terms. The denominator is always positive. The denominator of 0 is defined to be 1.

(numerator (/ 6 4))     ⇒  3
(denominator (/ 6 4))   ⇒  2
(denominator (inexact (/ 6 4)))
                        ⇒  2.0
procedure: floor x
procedure: ceiling x
procedure: truncate x
procedure: round x

These procedures return integers. floor returns the largest integer not larger than x. ceiling returns the smallest integer not smaller than x. truncate returns the integer closest to x whose absolute value is not larger than the absolute value of x. round returns the closest integer to x, rounding to even when x is halfway between two integers.

Rationale: round rounds to even for consistency with the rounding modes required by the IEEE floating point standard.

Note: If the argument to one of these procedures is inexact, then the result will also be inexact. If an exact value is needed, the result should be passed to the exact procedure (or use one of the procedures below).

(floor -4.3)          ⇒  -5.0
(ceiling -4.3)        ⇒  -4.0
(truncate -4.3)       ⇒  -4.0
(round -4.3)          ⇒  -4.0

(floor 3.5)           ⇒  3.0
(ceiling 3.5)         ⇒  4.0
(truncate 3.5)        ⇒  3.0
(round 3.5)           ⇒  4.0  ; inexact

(round 7/2)           ⇒  4    ; exact
(round 7)             ⇒  7
procedure: floor->exact x
procedure: ceiling->exact x
procedure: truncate->exact x
procedure: round->exact x

These procedures are similar to the preceding procedures except that they always return an exact result. For example, the following are equivalent

(floor->exact x)
(exact (floor x))

except that the former is faster and has fewer range restrictions.

procedure: rationalize x y
procedure: rationalize->exact x y

rationalize returns the simplest rational number differing from x by no more than y. A rational number r1 is simpler than another rational number r2 if r1=p1/q1 and r2=p2/q2 (both in lowest terms) and |p1|<=|p2| and |q1|<=|q2|. Thus 3/5 is simpler than 4/7. Although not all rationals are comparable in this ordering (consider 2/7 and 3/5) any interval contains a rational number that is simpler than every other rational number in that interval (the simpler 2/5 lies between 2/7 and 3/5). Note that 0=0/1 is the simplest rational of all.

(rationalize (exact .3) 1/10)  ⇒  1/3    ; exact
(rationalize .3 1/10)          ⇒  #i1/3  ; inexact

rationalize->exact is similar to rationalize except that it always returns an exact result.

procedure: simplest-rational x y
procedure: simplest-exact-rational x y

simplest-rational returns the simplest rational number between x and y inclusive; simplest-exact-rational is similar except that it always returns an exact result.

These procedures implement the same functionality as rationalize and rationalize->exact, except that they specify the input range by its endpoints; rationalize specifies the range by its center point and its (half-) width.

procedure: exp z
procedure: log z
procedure: sin z
procedure: cos z
procedure: tan z
procedure: asin z
procedure: acos z
procedure: atan z
procedure: atan y x

These procedures compute the usual transcendental functions. log computes the natural logarithm of z (not the base ten logarithm). asin, acos, and atan compute arcsine, arccosine, and arctangent, respectively. The two-argument variant of atan computes (angle (make-rectangular x y)) (see below).

In general, the mathematical functions log, arcsine, arccosine, and arctangent are multiply defined. For nonzero real x, the value of log x is defined to be the one whose imaginary part lies in the range minus pi (exclusive) to pi (inclusive). log 0 is undefined. The value of log z when z is complex is defined according to the formula With log defined this way, the values of arcsine, arccosine, and arctangent are according to the following formulae: The above specification follows Common Lisp: the Language, which in turn cites Principal Values and Branch Cuts in Complex APL; refer to these sources for more detailed discussion of branch cuts, boundary conditions, and implementation of these functions. When it is possible these procedures produce a real result from a real argument.

procedure: log1p z
procedure: expm1 z

Equivalent to:

log1p z = log(1 + z).
expm1 z = exp(z) - 1,
fig/log1p fig/expm1

However, for real numbers close to zero, or for complex numbers near the circle of radius 1 about -1, these provide better approximations than (log (+ 1 z)) or (- (exp z) 1):

  • Floating-point numbers have much higher density around 0 than around 1, so naive translation from near 0 to near 1 loses precision, and naive computation of a number near 1 loses precision even if it is followed by translation to near 0.
  • The condition number of log near 1 is unbounded, while the condition number of log1p near 0 is near 1:
    x f'(x)/f(x) = [x/(1 + x)]/log(1 + x).
    
    fig/cn-log1p

    (Conversely, the condition number of log near 0 approaches 0, while the condition number of log1p near -1 is unbounded, so for inputs near 0 it is better to compute them via log rather than via log1p.)

  • Similarly, although the condition number of exp near 0 is near 0, its value near 0 is near 1, and the condition number of y - 1 is unbounded for y near 1, so the intermediate error introduced by (exp z) may be amplified arbitrarily by then computing (- (exp z) 1). In contrast, the condition number of expm1 itself near 0 is near 1, so it does not inherently amplify errors:
    x f'(x)/f(x) = x e^x/(e^x - 1).
    
    fig/cn-expm1

On real numbers, the forward relative error of this implementation is determined by the system’s math library, usually below 1ulp.

On complex numbers:

  • The forward relative error in complex magnitude is bounded by a small multiple of the system math library’s error for exp, expm1, log, log1p, sin, and cos.
  • The componentwise forward relative error of log1p is bounded by a small multiple of the system math library’s error for log and log1p.
  • The componentwise forward relative error of expm1 is bounded by a small multiple of the system math library’s error for exp, expm1, log, log1p, sin, and cos—except on x + i y where x is near zero and e^{-x} is near \cos y.
procedure: versin z
procedure: exsec z
procedure: aversin z
procedure: aexsec z

Zero-centered trigonometric functions related to cosine but well-conditioned near zero:

versin z = 1 - cos z
exsec z = (1 - cos z)/cos z
fig/versin fig/exsec

Both functions are well-conditioned near zero on the real line:

x versin'(x)/versin(x) = x sin(x)/(1 - cos(x)),
x exsec'(x)/exsec(x) = x tan(x)/(1 - cos(x)).
fig/cn-versin fig/cn-exsec
procedure: logp1 z

Alias for log1p.

procedure: exp2 z
procedure: exp10 z
procedure: exp2m1 z
procedure: exp10m1 z
procedure: log2 z
procedure: log10 z
procedure: log2p1 z
procedure: log10p1 z

Base-2 and base-10 variants of exp, expm1, log, and log1p.

procedure: log1mexp x
procedure: log1pexp x

Equivalent to:

log1mexp x = log (1 - e^x),
log1pexp x = log (1 + e^x).
fig/log1mexp fig/log1pexp

Like log1p and expm1, these avoid numerical pathologies with the intermediate quantities 1 - e^x and 1 + e^x and inputs to log near 1.

  • log1mexp computes the complement of a probability p in log-space \log p, and as such is a self-inverse. It is finite when x < 0; negative infinity when x = 0; and invalid otherwise.
  • log1pexp is related to the logistic function 1/(1 + e^{-x}) — specifically, it differs from the logarithm of the logistic function only by the sign of the input and the output.

This implementation gives forward relative error bounded by ten times the forward relative error bound of the system math library’s log and exp, which is usually below 1ulp.

Beware that although the forward relative error of the MIT/GNU Scheme implementations of these functions is bounded, these functions are ill-conditioned for large negative inputs:

x f'(x)/f(x) = (+/- x exp(x))/((1 +/- e^x) log(1 +/- e^x)),
  --> x,  for x << 0.
fig/cn-log1mexp fig/cn-log1pexp
procedure: logistic x
procedure: logit x

Logistic and logit functions. Equivalent to:

logistic x = exp(x)/[1 + exp(x)] = 1/[1 + exp(-x)],
logit p = log p/(1 - p).

These functions are inverses of one another. The logit function maps a probablity p in [0, 1] into log-odds x in the extended real line, and the logistic function maps back from log-odds to probabilities.

  • The logistic function is defined on the entire real line, but is ill-conditioned for large negative x, with condition number
    x f'(x)/f(x) = x exp(-x)/[1 + exp(-x)].
    
    fig/cn-logistic

    The identity

    logistic(-x) = 1 - logistic(x)
    

    may help to rearrange a computation, along with the logistic-1/2 function which ranges from -1/2 to +1/2 and centered at zero rather than from 0 to 1 and centered at 1/2.

    This implementation gives forward relative error bounded by at most seven times the forward relative error bound of the system math library’s exp, which is usually below 1ulp.

  • The logit function is defined on the closed unit interval [0, 1], but is ill-conditioned near 1/2 and 1, with condition number
    x f'(x)/f(x) = 1/[(1 - p) log(p/(1 - p))].
    
    fig/cn-logit

    The identity

    logit(1 - p) = -logit(p)
    

    may help to rearrange a computation, along with the logit1/2+ function which is defined on -1/2 to +1/2 and centered at zero rather than on 0 to 1 and centered at 1/2.

    This implementation gives forward relative error bounded by at most ten times the forward relative error bound of the system math library’s log, which is usually below 1ulp.

procedure: logistic-1/2 x
procedure: logit1/2+ x

Equivalent to:

logistic-1/2 x = logistic(x) - 1/2,
logit1/2+ p = logit(1/2 + p).
fig/logistichalf fig/logithalf

Like logistic and logit, these functions are inverses of one another; unlike logistic and logit, their domains and codomains are both centered at zero.

  • The logistic-1/2 function is well-conditioned on the entire real line, with maximum condition number 1 at 0:
    x f'(x)/f(x) = 2 x e^-x / (1 - (e^-x)^2).
    
    fig/cn-logistichalf

    This implementation gives forward relative error bounded by 5 times the forward relative error bound of the system math library’s exp, which is usually below 1ulp.

  • The logit1/2+ function is defined on [-1/2, +1/2], and is ill-conditioned near -1/2 and +1/2:
    x f'(x)/f(x) = x/[(1 - 4 x^2) logit(1/2 + x)].
    
    fig/cn-logithalf

    For points near -1/2 or +1/2, it may be better to compute logit of a point near 0 instead. This implementation gives forward relative error bounded by 34 times the forward relative error bound of the system math library’s log, which is usually below 1ulp.

procedure: log-logistic x
procedure: logit-exp x

Equivalent to:

log-logistic x = log(logistic(x)) = log [1/(1 + exp(-x))]
logit-exp x = logit(exp(x)) = log [exp(x)/(1 - exp(x))]

Like logistic and logit, these functions are inverses of one another.

  • The loglogistic function maps log-odds on the extended real line to logprobability on the nonpositive half of the extended real line, and is illconditioned for large positive x:
    x f'(x)/f(x) = (-x exp(-x))/[(1 + exp(-x)) log(1 + exp(-x))]
    
    fig/cn-loglogistic
  • The logitexp function maps log-probability on the nonpositive half of the extended real line to log-odds on the extended real line, and is illconditioned near \log(1/2):
    x f'(x)/f(x) = x/[(1 - exp(x)) log(exp(x)/(1 - exp(x)))]
    
    fig/cn-logitexp

This implementation gives forward relative error bounded by ten times the forward relative error bound of the system math library’s log and exp, which is usually below 1ulp.

procedure: logsumexp list

List must be a list of real numbers x1, x2, …, xn. Returns an approximation to:

log(exp(x1) + exp(x2) + … + exp(xn)).

The computation avoids intermediate overflow; logsumexp returns +inf.0 if and only if one of the inputs is +inf.0.

procedure: sin-pi* x
procedure: cos-pi* x
procedure: tan-pi* x
procedure: versin-pi* x
procedure: exsec-pi* x
procedure: asin/pi x
procedure: acos/pi x
procedure: atan/pi x
procedure: atan2/pi y x
procedure: aversin/pi x
procedure: aexsec/pi x

These procedures compute the standard trigonometric functions in units of half-revolutions rather than units of radians. Mathematically, (sin-pi* x) computes \sin(\pi x) and (asin/pi x) computes \arcsin(x)/\pi, etc.

procedure: sqrt z

Returns the principal square root of z. The result will have either positive real part, or zero real part and non-negative imaginary part.

procedure: rsqrt z

Returns the reciprocal of the principal square root of z.

procedure: sqrt1pm1 z

Returns

sqrt(1 + z) - 1
fig/sqrt1pm1

This function is well-conditioned except for z near -1; the condition number is:

(z/2) / (z - (sqrt(1 + z) - 1))
fig/cn-sqrt1pm1

Using (sqrt1pm1 z) instead of (- (sqrt (+ 1 z)) 1) avoids loss of precision when z is near 0.

procedure: expt z1 z2

Returns z1 raised to the power z2:

procedure: compound z1 z2
procedure: compoundm1 z1 z2

Compound returns (1 + z1)^z2, and compoundm1 returns (1 + z1)^z2 - 1, with low relative error even for z1 near zero.

procedure: make-rectangular x1 x2
procedure: make-polar x3 x4
procedure: real-part z
procedure: imag-part z
procedure: magnitude z
procedure: angle z
procedure: conjugate z

Suppose x1, x2, x3, and x4 are real numbers and z is a complex number such that Then make-rectangular and make-polar return z, real-part returns x1, imag-part returns x2, magnitude returns x3, and angle returns x4. In the case of angle, whose value is not uniquely determined by the preceding rule, the value returned will be the one in the range minus pi (exclusive) to pi (inclusive).

conjugate returns the complex conjugate of z.

The procedures exact and inexact implement the natural one-to-one correspondence between exact and inexact integers throughout an implementation-dependent range.

procedure: inexact z
procedure: exact->inexact z

inexact returns an inexact representation of z. The value returned is the inexact number that is numerically closest to the argument. For inexact arguments, the result is the same as the argument. For exact complex numbers, the result is a complex number whose real and imaginary parts are the result of applying inexact to the real and imaginary parts of the argument, respectively. If an exact argument has no reasonably close inexact equivalent (in the sense of =), then a violation of an implementation restriction may be reported.

The procedure exact->inexact has been deprecated by R7RS.

procedure: exact z
procedure: inexact->exact z

exact returns an exact representation of z. The value returned is the exact number that is numerically closest to the argument. For exact arguments, the result is the same as the argument. For inexact non-integral real arguments, the implementation may return a rational approximation, or may report an implementation violation. For inexact complex arguments, the result is a complex number whose real and imaginary parts are the result of applying exact to the real and imaginary parts of the argument, respectively. If an inexact argument has no reasonably close exact equivalent (in the sense of =), then a violation of an implementation restriction may be reported.

The procedure inexact->exact has been deprecated by R7RS.


Footnotes

(3)

In MIT/GNU Scheme the rational? procedure is the same as real?, and the complex? procedure is the same as number?.

(4)

MIT/GNU Scheme signals an error of type condition-type:bad-range-argument in this case.


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