Thread: integral counterpart to pow()?

  1. #1
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    integral counterpart to pow()?

    Hi,
    I was wondering, in the standard libraries, is there an integral counterpart to the "double pow(double, double)" function? (for an integer raised to the power of a positive integer)

    I am asking this because I want to use the pow function without having to worry about everything associated with floating points (precision etc).

    Thank you very much.

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    C++ Witch laserlight's Avatar
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    I was wondering, in the standard libraries, is there an integral counterpart to the "double pow(double, double)" function? (for an integer raised to the power of a positive integer)
    Unfortunately no, only versions for float, double and long double.

    I am asking this because I want to use the pow function without having to worry about everything associated with floating points (precision etc).
    Thankfully, it is much easier to write a version for an int raised to an int, so you could always write it yourself.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
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    thank you for your reply.

    Thankfully, it is much easier to write a version for an int raised to an int, so you could always write it yourself.
    Can you please enlighten me a bit on that? It doesn't sound too easy to me. Unless the most efficient way is to just loop through the exponent?

    Thank you very much

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    C++ Witch laserlight's Avatar
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    Unless the most efficient way is to just loop through the exponent?
    An efficient yet easy way (not sure if it is the most efficient) is to note that:
    For a integers x, n and letting ^ denote exponentiation:
    x^(2n) = x^n * x^n
    x^(2n+1) = x^n * x^n * x

    Consequently, one could write a recursive function that performs this calculation.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

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    An efficient yet easy way (not sure if it is the most efficient) is to note that:
    For a integers x, n and letting ^ denote exponentiation:
    x^(2n) = x^n * x^n
    x^(2n+1) = x^n * x^n * x
    hmm I see... I will try to implement that.

    Thank you for your help

  6. #6
    Algorithm Dissector iMalc's Avatar
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    It doesn't need to be recursive:
    Code:
    	unsigned int pow(unsigned int a, unsigned int b) {
    		unsigned int result = 1;
    		while (b) {
    			if (b & 1)
    				result *= a;
    			b >>= 1;
    			a *= a;
    		}
    		return result;
    	}
    Last edited by iMalc; 11-23-2007 at 10:24 PM.
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