[vset VERSION 1.0.2]
[manpage_begin math::exact n [vset VERSION]]
[copyright "2015 Kevin B. Kenny <kennykb@acm.org>
Redistribution permitted under the terms of the Open\
Publication License <http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/>"]
[moddesc {Tcl Math Library}]
[titledesc {Exact Real Arithmetic}]
[category Mathematics]
[require Tcl "8.6 9"]
[require grammar::aycock 1.0]
[require math::exact [vset VERSION]]
[description]
[para]
The [cmd exactexpr] command in the [cmd math::exact] package
allows for exact computations over the computable real numbers.
These are not arbitrary-precision calculations; rather they are
exact, with numbers represented by algorithms that produce successive
approximations. At the end of a calculation, the caller can
request a given precision for the end result, and intermediate results are
computed to whatever precision is necessary to satisfy the request.
[section "Procedures"]
The following procedure is the primary entry into the [cmd math::exact]
package.
[list_begin definitions]
[call [cmd ::math::exact::exactexpr] [arg expr]]

Accepts a mathematical expression in Tcl syntax, and returns an object
that represents the program to calculate successive approximations to
the expression's value. The result will be referred to as an
exact real number.

[call [arg number] [cmd ref]]

Increases the reference count of a given exact real number.

[call [arg number] [cmd unref]]

Decreases the reference count of a given exact real number, and destroys
the number if the reference count is zero.

[call [arg number] [cmd asPrint] [arg precision]]

Formats the given [arg number] for printing, with the specified [arg precision].
(See below for how [arg precision] is interpreted). Numbers that are known to
be rational are formatted as fractions.

[call [arg number] [cmd asFloat] [arg precision]]

Formats the given [arg number] for printing, with the specified [arg precision].
(See below for how [arg precision] is interpreted). All numbers are formatted
in floating-point E format.

[list_end]

[section Parameters]

[list_begin definitions]

[def [arg expr]]

Expression to evaluate. The syntax for expressions is the same as it is in Tcl,
but the set of operations is smaller. See [sectref Expressions] below
for details.

[def [arg number]]

The object returned by an earlier invocation of [cmd math::exact::exactexpr]

[def [arg precision]]

The requested 'precision' of the result. The precision is (approximately)
the absolute value of the binary exponent plus the number of bits of the
binary significand. For instance, to return results to IEEE-754 double
precision, 56 bits plus the exponent are required. Numbers between 1/2 and 2
will require a precision of 57; numbers between 1/4 and 1/2 or between 2 and 4
will require 58; numbers between 1/8 and 1/4 or between 4 and 8 will require
59; and so on.

[list_end]

[section Expressions]

The [cmd math::exact::exactexpr] command accepts expressions in a subset
of Tcl's syntax. The following components may be used in an expression.

[list_begin itemized]

[item]Decimal integers.
[item]Variable references with the dollar sign ([const \$]).
The value of the variable must be the result of another call to
[cmd math::exact::exactexpr]. The reference count of the value
will be increased by one for each position at which it appears
in the expression.
[item]The exponentiation operator ([const **]).
[item]Unary plus ([const +]) and minus ([const -]) operators.
[item]Multiplication ([const *]) and division ([const /]) operators.
[item]Parentheses used for grouping.
[item]Functions. See [sectref Functions] below for the functions that are
available.

[list_end]

[section Functions]

The following functions are available for use within exact real expressions.

[list_begin definitions]


[def [const acos(][arg x][const )]]
The inverse cosine of [arg x]. The result is expressed in radians.
The absolute value of [arg x] must be less than 1.

[def [const acosh(][arg x][const )]]
The inverse hyperbolic cosine of [arg x].
[arg x] must be greater than 1.

[def [const asin(][arg x][const )]]
The inverse sine of [arg x]. The result is expressed in radians.
The absolute value of [arg x] must be less than 1.

[def [const asinh(][arg x][const )]]
The inverse hyperbolic sine of [arg x].

[def [const atan(][arg x][const )]]
The inverse tangent of [arg x]. The result is expressed in radians.

[def [const atanh(][arg x][const )]]
The inverse hyperbolic tangent of [arg x].
The absolute value of [arg x] must be less than 1.

[def [const cos(][arg x][const )]]
The cosine of [arg x]. [arg x] is expressed in radians.

[def [const cosh(][arg x][const )]]
The hyperbolic cosine of [arg x].

[def [const e()]]
The base of the natural logarithms = [const 2.71828...]

[def [const exp(][arg x][const )]]
The exponential function of [arg x].

[def [const log(][arg x][const )]]
The natural logarithm of [arg x]. [arg x] must be positive.

[def [const pi()]]
The value of pi = [const 3.15159...]

[def [const sin(][arg x][const )]]
The sine of [arg x]. [arg x] is expressed in radians.

[def [const sinh(][arg x][const )]]
The hyperbolic sine of [arg x].

[def [const sqrt(][arg x][const )]]
The square root of [arg x]. [arg x] must be positive.

[def [const tan(][arg x][const )]]
The tangent of [arg x]. [arg x] is expressed in radians.

[def [const tanh(][arg x][const )]]
The hyperbolic tangent of [arg x].

[list_end]

[section Summary]

The [cmd math::exact::exactexpr] command provides a system that
performs exact arithmetic over computable real numbers, representing
the numbers as algorithms for successive approximation.

An example, which implements the high-school quadratic formula,
is shown below.

[example {
namespace import math::exact::exactexpr
proc exactquad {a b c} {
    set d [[exactexpr {sqrt($b*$b - 4*$a*$c)}] ref]
    set r0 [[exactexpr {(-$b - $d) / (2 * $a)}] ref]
    set r1 [[exactexpr {(-$b + $d) / (2 * $a)}] ref]
    $d unref
    return [list $r0 $r1]
}

set a [[exactexpr 1] ref]
set b [[exactexpr 200] ref]
set c [[exactexpr {(-3/2) * 10**-12}] ref]
lassign [exactquad $a $b $c] r0 r1
$a unref; $b unref; $c unref
puts [list [$r0 asFloat 70] [$r1 asFloat 110]]
$r0 unref; $r1 unref
}]

The program prints the result:
[example {
-2.000000000000000075e2 7.499999999999999719e-15
}]

Note that if IEEE-754 floating point had been used, a catastrophic
roundoff error would yield a smaller root that is a factor of two
too high:

[example {
-200.0 1.4210854715202004e-14
}]

The invocations of [cmd exactexpr] should be fairly self-explanatory.
The other commands of note are [cmd ref] and [cmd unref]. It is necessary
for the caller to keep track of references to exact expressions - to call
[cmd ref] every time an exact expression is stored in a variable and
[cmd unref] every time the variable goes out of scope or is overwritten.

The [cmd asFloat] method emits decimal digits as long as the requested
precision supports them. It terminates when the requested precision
yields an uncertainty of more than one unit in the least significant digit.

[vset CATEGORY mathematics]
[manpage_end]
