Re: Inputting Math Functions

The first suggestion would be find out what expressions you want to support. Is it just the four basic arithmetic ops? What representations do you need of numbers (eg., base ten? Scientific notation like 8E6? Rationals? Arbitrary precision reals? Complex numbers?). Do you need precedence to work implicitly (eg., is "32 + 9/5 * x" "32 + ((9/5) * x)"? Or "((32 + 9)/5) * x"? Something else)? Do you need to allow arbitrary functions that you had defined earlier?

Depending on how simple your needs, you may be able to use a simple regular expression to do the parsing for you, or you may need something more involved.

Comment on Re: Inputting Math Functions

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Re^2: Inputting Math Functions by fredopalus (Friar) on Dec 17, 2006 at 18:20 UTC
Yeah, I would need to work within the set of reals, using transcendental functions as well as polynomials, rationals, etc..	[reply]
Re^3: Inputting Math Functions by gaal (Parson) on Dec 17, 2006 at 18:41 UTC
Then you should use a Real Parser to make sense of your expression. Parse::RecDescent was mentioned and is fine to use, if a little slow. Maybe you want to try this out in Perl 6 Rules though? You'd need Pugs for that, or perhaps stay in Perl 5 and give Pugs::Compiler::Rule a shot.	[reply]