Thread: trying to use pow()

  1. #1
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    trying to use pow()

    im trying to use the power function pow() but when I do the program fails to compile
    with undefind refer to pow


    Code:
    // calculate loan payments on a mortgage
    
    
    #include <stdio.h>
    #include <math.h>
    
    int main()
    
    {
    
            // declare all variables
    
            double principal_amount = 0;
            double interest_rate = 0;
            int years = 0;
    
    
            system ("clear");
    
            printf ( " This program will calculate your monthly payment of a Home Mortgage\n\n");                                               
            printf ( " First it will need some info \n\n" );
            scanf  ( " Please enter the loan amount:\t %d \n\n", &principal_amount );
            scanf  ( " Next how many years would you like the loan for?\t %d \n\n", &years );
            scanf  ( " And last what intrest rate are you getting?\t %d \n\n", &interest_rate );
    
    
            int number_of_payments = years * 12;
            double monthly_interest = interest_rate / 12;
            double  x = pow( 1.0 + monthly_interest, number_of_payments );
            double monthly_payment = ( principal_amount * x * monthly_interest ) / ( x - 1 );
    
    
            printf ( "\n\n Your monthly payment would be %d.2\n\n ", monthly_payment );
            
    
            return 0;
    
    }

  2. #2
    Frustrated C Programmer
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    Your problem is that you are declaring and initializing variables later in the program. A good, general guide to follow is to declare and initialize all of your variables (if they need to be initialized -- and initialize them with numbers) at the start of your program and then calculate the values for them later.

    I did a test run with your program, declaring all your variables at the start and then calculating their values later, and it compiles correctly. Whether it works correctly or not from there, is up to you to test!

    P.S. You used pow() correctly.

  3. #3
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    The way you've done things (declaring variables later) is C++, not C. Move declarations to the top of the function to address that.

    Apart from that, your problem isn't compilation. It is more likely to be a linker problem. With a lot of development environments, the math library is not linked in by default.

    With Unix compilers (eg gcc) this is addressed by adding "-lm" to the command line. With windows development environments, there is usually an option somewhere concerned with using floating point libraries.

    An alternative, in your case, is to replace;
    Code:
    double  x = pow( 1.0 + monthly_interest, number_of_payments );
    with;
    Code:
    double temp = 1.0 + monthly_interest;
    double x = 1.0;
    for (int i = 0; i < number_of_payments; ++i)
        x *= temp;
    Last edited by grumpy; 10-08-2005 at 11:57 PM.

  4. #4
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    yup it was a linker problem

    yea it was a linker problem I figured that out

    I also found many other problems with my code so I fixed it

    Code:
    // calculate loan payments on a mortgage
    
    
    #include <stdio.h>
    #include <math.h>
    
    int main()
    
    {
    
            // declare all variables
    
            double principal_amount = 0;
            float interest_rate = 0.0 ;
            int years = 0;
    
    
            system ("clear");
    
            printf ( " This program will calculate your monthly payment of a Home Mortgage\n\n" );
            printf ( " First it will need some info \n\n" );
            printf ( " Please enter the loan amount: " );
            scanf  ( "%d", &principal_amount );
            printf ( "\n\n Next how many years would you like the loan for? " );
            scanf  ( "%d", &years );
            printf ( "\n\nAnd last what intrest rate are you getting? " );
            scanf  ( "%3f", &interest_rate );
    
    
            int number_of_payments = years * 12;
            float monthly_interest = interest_rate / 12;
            double monthly_payment = principal_amount * pow ( 1.0 + monthly_interest, number_of_payments )  * monthly_interest / ( pow ( 1.0 + monthly_interest, number_of_payments ) - $
    
    
            printf ( "\n\n Your monthly payment would be $%d dollars\n\n ", monthly_payment );
            printf ( "\n Principal amount is %d", principal_amount );
            printf ( "\n Number of payments is %d", number_of_payments );
            printf ( "\n Monthly interest is %f", monthly_interest );
            printf ( "\n Interest rate is %3f\n", interest_rate );
    
            return 0;
    
    }

    it runs now

  5. #5
    and the hat of int overfl Salem's Avatar
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    In addition, some printf and scanf calls are wrong
    foo.c:21: warning: format ‘%d’ expects type ‘int *’, but argument 2 has type ‘double *’
    foo.c:30: warning: format ‘%d’ expects type ‘int’, but argument 2 has type ‘double’
    If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
    If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.

  6. #6
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    For float and double, you need to use %f or %g format specifiers rather than %d (which is for int).

    You're lucky; not all compilers check that for you.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by grumpy
    For float and double, you need to use %f or %g format specifiers rather than %d (which is for int).

    You're lucky; not all compilers check that for you.
    I looked at what your are saying and I did some reading and some testing.

    my school book say that you should express an dollar amount as a "%d" format specifer
    cuase your talking about money. But I did see the warnings the other person got.

    So how could I correct this. I tried changing both the "%f" but after I recompiled it my
    awnser was no-longer correct.

    I tested the program with 100,000 dollar @ 7% interest rate over 30 years. it should
    come back with a $665 monthly payment. after making the format change my answer was
    wrong.

  8. #8
    Frequently Quite Prolix dwks's Avatar
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    Your example does not compile because of this line (split for readability):
    Code:
    double monthly_payment = principal_amount * \
        pow ( 1.0 + monthly_interest, number_of_payments )  * \
        monthly_interest / ( pow ( 1.0 + monthly_interest, number_of_payments ) - $
    dwk

    Seek and ye shall find. quaere et invenies.

    "Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it." -- Alan Perlis
    "Testing can only prove the presence of bugs, not their absence." -- Edsger Dijkstra
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  9. #9
    Frequently Quite Prolix dwks's Avatar
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    Code:
    double principal_amount = 0;
    scanf  ( "%d", &principal_amount );
    %f is for floats, %lf is for doubles, and %d is for integers.
    dwk

    Seek and ye shall find. quaere et invenies.

    "Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it." -- Alan Perlis
    "Testing can only prove the presence of bugs, not their absence." -- Edsger Dijkstra
    "The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing." -- John Powell


    Other boards: DaniWeb, TPS
    Unofficial Wiki FAQ: cpwiki.sf.net

    My website: http://dwks.theprogrammingsite.com/
    Projects: codeform, xuni, atlantis, nort, etc.

  10. #10
    Registered Luser cwr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dwks
    Your example does not compile because of this line (split for readability):
    Code:
    double monthly_payment = principal_amount * \
        pow ( 1.0 + monthly_interest, number_of_payments )  * \
        monthly_interest / ( pow ( 1.0 + monthly_interest, number_of_payments ) - $
    The \'s at the end of the first two lines in the above code aren't necessary.

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