FAQ 4.4 Does Perl have a round() function? What about ceil() and floor()? Trig functions?
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From: PerlFAQ Server on 9 Jun 2010 12:00 This is an excerpt from the latest version perlfaq4.pod, which comes with the standard Perl distribution. These postings aim to reduce the number of repeated questions as well as allow the community to review and update the answers. The latest version of the complete perlfaq is at http://faq.perl.org . -------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.4: Does Perl have a round() function? What about ceil() and floor()? Trig functions? Remember that "int()" merely truncates toward 0. For rounding to a certain number of digits, "sprintf()" or "printf()" is usually the easiest route. printf("%.3f", 3.1415926535); # prints 3.142 The "POSIX" module (part of the standard Perl distribution) implements "ceil()", "floor()", and a number of other mathematical and trigonometric functions. use POSIX; $ceil = ceil(3.5); # 4 $floor = floor(3.5); # 3 In 5.000 to 5.003 perls, trigonometry was done in the "Math::Complex" module. With 5.004, the "Math::Trig" module (part of the standard Perl distribution) implements the trigonometric functions. Internally it uses the "Math::Complex" module and some functions can break out from the real axis into the complex plane, for example the inverse sine of 2. Rounding in financial applications can have serious implications, and the rounding method used should be specified precisely. In these cases, it probably pays not to trust whichever system rounding is being used by Perl, but to instead implement the rounding function you need yourself. To see why, notice how you'll still have an issue on half-way-point alternation: for ($i = 0; $i < 1.01; $i += 0.05) { printf "%.1f ",$i} 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 Don't blame Perl. It's the same as in C. IEEE says we have to do this. Perl numbers whose absolute values are integers under 2**31 (on 32 bit machines) will work pretty much like mathematical integers. Other numbers are not guaranteed. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The perlfaq-workers, a group of volunteers, maintain the perlfaq. They are not necessarily experts in every domain where Perl might show up, so please include as much information as possible and relevant in any corrections. The perlfaq-workers also don't have access to every operating system or platform, so please include relevant details for corrections to examples that do not work on particular platforms. Working code is greatly appreciated. If you'd like to help maintain the perlfaq, see the details in perlfaq.pod. |