Re: [boost] Math constants - updated.

From: Christoph Ludwig (cludwig_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-05-07 04:26:34

On Fri, May 06, 2005 at 10:55:15PM +0100, Paul A Bristow wrote:
>  
> 
> | -----Original Message-----
> | From: boost-bounces_at_[hidden] 
> | [mailto:boost-bounces_at_[hidden]] On Behalf Of Christoph Ludwig
> | Sent: 06 May 2005 21:49
> | To: boost_at_[hidden]
> | Subject: Re: [boost] Math constants - updated.
> 
> 
> Thanks for this, now updated master to
>  
> |   // Riemann Zeta(2) or Pi^2 / 6 = sum(1/n**2, n=1..infinity)

yup, I think that's clearer.

In the meantime, I had a look into the documentation. In
rationale.html#which%20constants you list the constants
provided. Unfortunately, this list is not current anymore. E.g.,
double_constants.hpp defines twoPowThreeDivTwo which is not mentioned in
rationale.html. cubeRootFour is called two_pow_two_thirds in the
documentation. 
 
> This is way outside my knowledge zone - and I was unclear if and how many to
> include.
> 
> Do these have any practical use?  Or are they only for Pure Mathematicians?

I am not sure either. I have no use for the Riemann Zeta function right now,
but it has a habit of popping up in areas where you did not expect it. So
others might very well have use for these constants.

Regarding the question of how many constants to include: Can your source code
easily be modified to generate other constants as well? Would it make sense to
distribute it as well so users can easily generate other constants
(say, sqrt(e), Riemann Zeta(n) for n > 3 etc.) if they need them?

Regards

Christoph

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