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Arbitrary precision (big number) library port for Arduino

Arbitrary precision (big number) library port for Arduino

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Posted by Nick Gammon Australia (22,975 posts) bio Forum Administrator

Date

Tue 31 Jan 2012 09:00 PM (UTC)

Amended on Sat 23 Aug 2014 03:49 AM (UTC) by Nick Gammon

Message

I love big numbers ... they are so ... big!

So in the spirit of getting your Arduino to handle nice, big, numbers I have ported (with pretty minimal effort on my part) the GNU "bc" library to an Arduino library. This can be downloaded from:

http://www.gammon.com.au/Arduino/BigNumber.zip

Just unzip into your "libraries" folder.

Also now available from GitHub:

https://github.com/nickgammon/BigNumber

Factorials

Example sketch:


// BigNumber test: factorials
#include "BigNumber.h"

// function to display a big number and free it afterwards
void printBignum (BigNumber & n)
{
  char * s = n.toString ();
  Serial.println (s);
  free (s);
}  // end of printBignum

void setup ()
{
  Serial.begin (115200);
  Serial.println ();
  BigNumber::begin ();  // initialize library
 
  //factorials
  BigNumber fact = 1;

  for (int i = 2; i <= 200; i++)
  {
    Serial.print (i);
    Serial.print ("! = ");
    fact *= i;
    printBignum (fact);
  }

}  // end of setup

void loop () { }

Output from above:


2! = 2
3! = 6
4! = 24
5! = 120
6! = 720
7! = 5040
8! = 40320
9! = 362880
10! = 3628800
11! = 39916800
12! = 479001600
13! = 6227020800
14! = 87178291200
15! = 1307674368000
16! = 20922789888000
17! = 355687428096000
18! = 6402373705728000
19! = 121645100408832000
20! = 2432902008176640000
21! = 51090942171709440000
22! = 1124000727777607680000
23! = 25852016738884976640000
24! = 620448401733239439360000
25! = 15511210043330985984000000
26! = 403291461126605635584000000
27! = 10888869450418352160768000000
28! = 304888344611713860501504000000
29! = 8841761993739701954543616000000
30! = 265252859812191058636308480000000
31! = 8222838654177922817725562880000000
32! = 263130836933693530167218012160000000
33! = 8683317618811886495518194401280000000
34! = 295232799039604140847618609643520000000
35! = 10333147966386144929666651337523200000000
36! = 371993326789901217467999448150835200000000
37! = 13763753091226345046315979581580902400000000
38! = 523022617466601111760007224100074291200000000
39! = 20397882081197443358640281739902897356800000000
40! = 815915283247897734345611269596115894272000000000
41! = 33452526613163807108170062053440751665152000000000
42! = 1405006117752879898543142606244511569936384000000000
43! = 60415263063373835637355132068513997507264512000000000
44! = 2658271574788448768043625811014615890319638528000000000
45! = 119622220865480194561963161495657715064383733760000000000
46! = 5502622159812088949850305428800254892961651752960000000000
47! = 258623241511168180642964355153611979969197632389120000000000
48! = 12413915592536072670862289047373375038521486354677760000000000
49! = 608281864034267560872252163321295376887552831379210240000000000
50! = 30414093201713378043612608166064768844377641568960512000000000000
51! = 1551118753287382280224243016469303211063259720016986112000000000000
52! = 80658175170943878571660636856403766975289505440883277824000000000000
53! = 4274883284060025564298013753389399649690343788366813724672000000000000
54! = 230843697339241380472092742683027581083278564571807941132288000000000000
55! = 12696403353658275925965100847566516959580321051449436762275840000000000000
56! = 710998587804863451854045647463724949736497978881168458687447040000000000000
57! = 40526919504877216755680601905432322134980384796226602145184481280000000000000
58! = 2350561331282878571829474910515074683828862318181142924420699914240000000000000
59! = 138683118545689835737939019720389406345902876772687432540821294940160000000000000
60! = 8320987112741390144276341183223364380754172606361245952449277696409600000000000000
61! = 507580213877224798800856812176625227226004528988036003099405939480985600000000000000
62! = 31469973260387937525653122354950764088012280797258232192163168247821107200000000000000
63! = 1982608315404440064116146708361898137544773690227268628106279599612729753600000000000000
64! = 126886932185884164103433389335161480802865516174545192198801894375214704230400000000000000
65! = 8247650592082470666723170306785496252186258551345437492922123134388955774976000000000000000
66! = 544344939077443064003729240247842752644293064388798874532860126869671081148416000000000000000
67! = 36471110918188685288249859096605464427167635314049524593701628500267962436943872000000000000000
68! = 2480035542436830599600990418569171581047399201355367672371710738018221445712183296000000000000000
69! = 171122452428141311372468338881272839092270544893520369393648040923257279754140647424000000000000000
70! = 11978571669969891796072783721689098736458938142546425857555362864628009582789845319680000000000000000
71! = 850478588567862317521167644239926010288584608120796235886430763388588680378079017697280000000000000000
72! = 61234458376886086861524070385274672740778091784697328983823014963978384987221689274204160000000000000000
73! = 4470115461512684340891257138125051110076800700282905015819080092370422104067183317016903680000000000000000
74! = 330788544151938641225953028221253782145683251820934971170611926835411235700971565459250872320000000000000000
75! = 24809140811395398091946477116594033660926243886570122837795894512655842677572867409443815424000000000000000000
76! = 1885494701666050254987932260861146558230394535379329335672487982961844043495537923117729972224000000000000000000
77! = 145183092028285869634070784086308284983740379224208358846781574688061991349156420080065207861248000000000000000000
78! = 11324281178206297831457521158732046228731749579488251990048962825668835325234200766245086213177344000000000000000000
79! = 894618213078297528685144171539831652069808216779571907213868063227837990693501860533361810841010176000000000000000000
80! = 71569457046263802294811533723186532165584657342365752577109445058227039255480148842668944867280814080000000000000000000
...

Powers


// BigNumber test: powers
#include "BigNumber.h"

// function to display a big number and free it afterwards
void printBignum (BigNumber & n)
{
  char * s = n.toString ();
  Serial.println (s);
  free (s);
}  // end of printBignum


void setup ()
{
  Serial.begin (115200);
  Serial.println ();
  BigNumber::begin ();  // initialize library

  Serial.println ("--- powers of 2 ---");
  
  BigNumber a = 2;

  for (int i = 1; i <= 300; i++)
  {
    Serial.print ("2^");
    Serial.print (i);
    Serial.print (" = ");
    BigNumber p = a.pow (i);
    printBignum (p);
  }  // end of for loop

  Serial.println ("--- powers of 3 ---");
  
  a = 3;

  for (int i = 1; i <= 300; i++)
  {
    Serial.print ("3^");
    Serial.print (i);
    Serial.print (" = ");
    BigNumber p = a.pow (i);
    printBignum (p);
  }  // end of for loop

}  // end of setup

void loop () { }

Output from above:


--- powers of 2 ---
2^1 = 2
2^2 = 4
2^3 = 8
2^4 = 16
2^5 = 32
2^6 = 64
2^7 = 128
2^8 = 256
2^9 = 512
2^10 = 1024
2^11 = 2048
2^12 = 4096
2^13 = 8192
2^14 = 16384
2^15 = 32768
2^16 = 65536
2^17 = 131072
2^18 = 262144
2^19 = 524288
2^20 = 1048576
2^21 = 2097152
2^22 = 4194304
2^23 = 8388608
2^24 = 16777216
2^25 = 33554432
2^26 = 67108864
2^27 = 134217728
2^28 = 268435456
2^29 = 536870912
2^30 = 1073741824
2^31 = 2147483648
2^32 = 4294967296
2^33 = 8589934592
2^34 = 17179869184
2^35 = 34359738368
2^36 = 68719476736
2^37 = 137438953472
2^38 = 274877906944
2^39 = 549755813888
2^40 = 1099511627776
2^41 = 2199023255552
2^42 = 4398046511104
2^43 = 8796093022208
2^44 = 17592186044416
2^45 = 35184372088832
2^46 = 70368744177664
2^47 = 140737488355328
2^48 = 281474976710656
2^49 = 562949953421312
2^50 = 1125899906842624
2^51 = 2251799813685248
2^52 = 4503599627370496
2^53 = 9007199254740992
2^54 = 18014398509481984
2^55 = 36028797018963968
2^56 = 72057594037927936
2^57 = 144115188075855872
2^58 = 288230376151711744
2^59 = 576460752303423488
2^60 = 1152921504606846976
2^61 = 2305843009213693952
2^62 = 4611686018427387904
2^63 = 9223372036854775808
2^64 = 18446744073709551616
2^65 = 36893488147419103232
2^66 = 73786976294838206464
2^67 = 147573952589676412928
2^68 = 295147905179352825856
2^69 = 590295810358705651712
2^70 = 1180591620717411303424
2^71 = 2361183241434822606848
2^72 = 4722366482869645213696
2^73 = 9444732965739290427392
2^74 = 18889465931478580854784
2^75 = 37778931862957161709568
2^76 = 75557863725914323419136
2^77 = 151115727451828646838272
2^78 = 302231454903657293676544
2^79 = 604462909807314587353088
2^80 = 1208925819614629174706176
2^81 = 2417851639229258349412352
2^82 = 4835703278458516698824704
2^83 = 9671406556917033397649408
2^84 = 19342813113834066795298816
2^85 = 38685626227668133590597632
2^86 = 77371252455336267181195264
2^87 = 154742504910672534362390528
2^88 = 309485009821345068724781056
2^89 = 618970019642690137449562112
2^90 = 1237940039285380274899124224
2^91 = 2475880078570760549798248448
2^92 = 4951760157141521099596496896
2^93 = 9903520314283042199192993792
2^94 = 19807040628566084398385987584
2^95 = 39614081257132168796771975168
2^96 = 79228162514264337593543950336
2^97 = 158456325028528675187087900672
2^98 = 316912650057057350374175801344
2^99 = 633825300114114700748351602688
2^100 = 1267650600228229401496703205376
2^101 = 2535301200456458802993406410752
2^102 = 5070602400912917605986812821504
2^103 = 10141204801825835211973625643008
2^104 = 20282409603651670423947251286016
2^105 = 40564819207303340847894502572032
2^106 = 81129638414606681695789005144064
2^107 = 162259276829213363391578010288128
2^108 = 324518553658426726783156020576256
2^109 = 649037107316853453566312041152512
2^110 = 1298074214633706907132624082305024
2^111 = 2596148429267413814265248164610048
2^112 = 5192296858534827628530496329220096
2^113 = 10384593717069655257060992658440192
2^114 = 20769187434139310514121985316880384
2^115 = 41538374868278621028243970633760768
2^116 = 83076749736557242056487941267521536
2^117 = 166153499473114484112975882535043072
2^118 = 332306998946228968225951765070086144
2^119 = 664613997892457936451903530140172288
2^120 = 1329227995784915872903807060280344576
2^121 = 2658455991569831745807614120560689152
2^122 = 5316911983139663491615228241121378304
2^123 = 10633823966279326983230456482242756608
2^124 = 21267647932558653966460912964485513216
2^125 = 42535295865117307932921825928971026432
2^126 = 85070591730234615865843651857942052864
2^127 = 170141183460469231731687303715884105728
2^128 = 340282366920938463463374607431768211456
2^129 = 680564733841876926926749214863536422912
2^130 = 1361129467683753853853498429727072845824
2^131 = 2722258935367507707706996859454145691648
2^132 = 5444517870735015415413993718908291383296
2^133 = 10889035741470030830827987437816582766592
2^134 = 21778071482940061661655974875633165533184
2^135 = 43556142965880123323311949751266331066368
2^136 = 87112285931760246646623899502532662132736
2^137 = 174224571863520493293247799005065324265472
2^138 = 348449143727040986586495598010130648530944
2^139 = 696898287454081973172991196020261297061888
2^140 = 1393796574908163946345982392040522594123776
2^141 = 2787593149816327892691964784081045188247552
2^142 = 5575186299632655785383929568162090376495104
2^143 = 11150372599265311570767859136324180752990208
2^144 = 22300745198530623141535718272648361505980416
2^145 = 44601490397061246283071436545296723011960832
2^146 = 89202980794122492566142873090593446023921664
2^147 = 178405961588244985132285746181186892047843328
2^148 = 356811923176489970264571492362373784095686656
2^149 = 713623846352979940529142984724747568191373312
2^150 = 1427247692705959881058285969449495136382746624
2^151 = 2854495385411919762116571938898990272765493248
2^152 = 5708990770823839524233143877797980545530986496
2^153 = 11417981541647679048466287755595961091061972992
2^154 = 22835963083295358096932575511191922182123945984
2^155 = 45671926166590716193865151022383844364247891968
2^156 = 91343852333181432387730302044767688728495783936
2^157 = 182687704666362864775460604089535377456991567872
2^158 = 365375409332725729550921208179070754913983135744
2^159 = 730750818665451459101842416358141509827966271488
2^160 = 1461501637330902918203684832716283019655932542976
2^161 = 2923003274661805836407369665432566039311865085952
2^162 = 5846006549323611672814739330865132078623730171904
2^163 = 11692013098647223345629478661730264157247460343808
2^164 = 23384026197294446691258957323460528314494920687616
2^165 = 46768052394588893382517914646921056628989841375232
2^166 = 93536104789177786765035829293842113257979682750464
2^167 = 187072209578355573530071658587684226515959365500928
2^168 = 374144419156711147060143317175368453031918731001856
2^169 = 748288838313422294120286634350736906063837462003712
2^170 = 1496577676626844588240573268701473812127674924007424
2^171 = 2993155353253689176481146537402947624255349848014848
2^172 = 5986310706507378352962293074805895248510699696029696
2^173 = 11972621413014756705924586149611790497021399392059392
2^174 = 23945242826029513411849172299223580994042798784118784
2^175 = 47890485652059026823698344598447161988085597568237568
2^176 = 95780971304118053647396689196894323976171195136475136
2^177 = 191561942608236107294793378393788647952342390272950272
2^178 = 383123885216472214589586756787577295904684780545900544
2^179 = 766247770432944429179173513575154591809369561091801088
2^180 = 1532495540865888858358347027150309183618739122183602176
2^181 = 3064991081731777716716694054300618367237478244367204352
2^182 = 6129982163463555433433388108601236734474956488734408704
2^183 = 12259964326927110866866776217202473468949912977468817408
2^184 = 24519928653854221733733552434404946937899825954937634816
2^185 = 49039857307708443467467104868809893875799651909875269632
2^186 = 98079714615416886934934209737619787751599303819750539264
2^187 = 196159429230833773869868419475239575503198607639501078528
2^188 = 392318858461667547739736838950479151006397215279002157056
2^189 = 784637716923335095479473677900958302012794430558004314112
2^190 = 1569275433846670190958947355801916604025588861116008628224
2^191 = 3138550867693340381917894711603833208051177722232017256448
2^192 = 6277101735386680763835789423207666416102355444464034512896
2^193 = 12554203470773361527671578846415332832204710888928069025792
2^194 = 25108406941546723055343157692830665664409421777856138051584
2^195 = 50216813883093446110686315385661331328818843555712276103168
2^196 = 100433627766186892221372630771322662657637687111424552206336
2^197 = 200867255532373784442745261542645325315275374222849104412672
2^198 = 401734511064747568885490523085290650630550748445698208825344
2^199 = 803469022129495137770981046170581301261101496891396417650688
2^200 = 1606938044258990275541962092341162602522202993782792835301376
...
--- powers of 3 ---
3^1 = 3
3^2 = 9
3^3 = 27
3^4 = 81
3^5 = 243
3^6 = 729
3^7 = 2187
3^8 = 6561
3^9 = 19683
3^10 = 59049
3^11 = 177147
3^12 = 531441
3^13 = 1594323
3^14 = 4782969
3^15 = 14348907
3^16 = 43046721
3^17 = 129140163
3^18 = 387420489
3^19 = 1162261467
3^20 = 3486784401
3^21 = 10460353203
3^22 = 31381059609
3^23 = 94143178827
3^24 = 282429536481
3^25 = 847288609443
3^26 = 2541865828329
3^27 = 7625597484987
3^28 = 22876792454961
3^29 = 68630377364883
3^30 = 205891132094649
3^31 = 617673396283947
3^32 = 1853020188851841
3^33 = 5559060566555523
3^34 = 16677181699666569
3^35 = 50031545098999707
3^36 = 150094635296999121
3^37 = 450283905890997363
3^38 = 1350851717672992089
3^39 = 4052555153018976267
3^40 = 12157665459056928801
3^41 = 36472996377170786403
3^42 = 109418989131512359209
3^43 = 328256967394537077627
3^44 = 984770902183611232881
3^45 = 2954312706550833698643
3^46 = 8862938119652501095929
3^47 = 26588814358957503287787
3^48 = 79766443076872509863361
3^49 = 239299329230617529590083
3^50 = 717897987691852588770249
3^51 = 2153693963075557766310747
3^52 = 6461081889226673298932241
3^53 = 19383245667680019896796723
3^54 = 58149737003040059690390169
3^55 = 174449211009120179071170507
3^56 = 523347633027360537213511521
3^57 = 1570042899082081611640534563
3^58 = 4710128697246244834921603689
3^59 = 14130386091738734504764811067
3^60 = 42391158275216203514294433201
3^61 = 127173474825648610542883299603
3^62 = 381520424476945831628649898809
3^63 = 1144561273430837494885949696427
3^64 = 3433683820292512484657849089281
3^65 = 10301051460877537453973547267843
3^66 = 30903154382632612361920641803529
3^67 = 92709463147897837085761925410587
3^68 = 278128389443693511257285776231761
3^69 = 834385168331080533771857328695283
3^70 = 2503155504993241601315571986085849
3^71 = 7509466514979724803946715958257547
3^72 = 22528399544939174411840147874772641
3^73 = 67585198634817523235520443624317923
3^74 = 202755595904452569706561330872953769
3^75 = 608266787713357709119683992618861307
3^76 = 1824800363140073127359051977856583921
3^77 = 5474401089420219382077155933569751763
3^78 = 16423203268260658146231467800709255289
3^79 = 49269609804781974438694403402127765867
3^80 = 147808829414345923316083210206383297601
3^81 = 443426488243037769948249630619149892803
3^82 = 1330279464729113309844748891857449678409
3^83 = 3990838394187339929534246675572349035227
3^84 = 11972515182562019788602740026717047105681
3^85 = 35917545547686059365808220080151141317043
3^86 = 107752636643058178097424660240453423951129
3^87 = 323257909929174534292273980721360271853387
3^88 = 969773729787523602876821942164080815560161
3^89 = 2909321189362570808630465826492242446680483
3^90 = 8727963568087712425891397479476727340041449
3^91 = 26183890704263137277674192438430182020124347
3^92 = 78551672112789411833022577315290546060373041
3^93 = 235655016338368235499067731945871638181119123
3^94 = 706965049015104706497203195837614914543357369
3^95 = 2120895147045314119491609587512844743630072107
3^96 = 6362685441135942358474828762538534230890216321
3^97 = 19088056323407827075424486287615602692670648963
3^98 = 57264168970223481226273458862846808078011946889
3^99 = 171792506910670443678820376588540424234035840667
3^100 = 515377520732011331036461129765621272702107522001
3^101 = 1546132562196033993109383389296863818106322566003
3^102 = 4638397686588101979328150167890591454318967698009
3^103 = 13915193059764305937984450503671774362956903094027
3^104 = 41745579179292917813953351511015323088870709282081
3^105 = 125236737537878753441860054533045969266612127846243
3^106 = 375710212613636260325580163599137907799836383538729
3^107 = 1127130637840908780976740490797413723399509150616187
3^108 = 3381391913522726342930221472392241170198527451848561
3^109 = 10144175740568179028790664417176723510595582355545683
3^110 = 30432527221704537086371993251530170531786747066637049
3^111 = 91297581665113611259115979754590511595360241199911147
3^112 = 273892744995340833777347939263771534786080723599733441
3^113 = 821678234986022501332043817791314604358242170799200323
3^114 = 2465034704958067503996131453373943813074726512397600969
3^115 = 7395104114874202511988394360121831439224179537192802907
3^116 = 22185312344622607535965183080365494317672538611578408721
3^117 = 66555937033867822607895549241096482953017615834735226163
3^118 = 199667811101603467823686647723289448859052847504205678489
3^119 = 599003433304810403471059943169868346577158542512617035467
3^120 = 1797010299914431210413179829509605039731475627537851106401
3^121 = 5391030899743293631239539488528815119194426882613553319203
3^122 = 16173092699229880893718618465586445357583280647840659957609
3^123 = 48519278097689642681155855396759336072749841943521979872827
3^124 = 145557834293068928043467566190278008218249525830565939618481
3^125 = 436673502879206784130402698570834024654748577491697818855443
3^126 = 1310020508637620352391208095712502073964245732475093456566329
3^127 = 3930061525912861057173624287137506221892737197425280369698987
3^128 = 11790184577738583171520872861412518665678211592275841109096961
3^129 = 35370553733215749514562618584237555997034634776827523327290883
3^130 = 106111661199647248543687855752712667991103904330482569981872649
3^131 = 318334983598941745631063567258138003973311712991447709945617947
3^132 = 955004950796825236893190701774414011919935138974343129836853841
3^133 = 2865014852390475710679572105323242035759805416923029389510561523
3^134 = 8595044557171427132038716315969726107279416250769088168531684569
3^135 = 25785133671514281396116148947909178321838248752307264505595053707
3^136 = 77355401014542844188348446843727534965514746256921793516785161121
3^137 = 232066203043628532565045340531182604896544238770765380550355483363
3^138 = 696198609130885597695136021593547814689632716312296141651066450089
3^139 = 2088595827392656793085408064780643444068898148936888424953199350267
3^140 = 6265787482177970379256224194341930332206694446810665274859598050801
3^141 = 18797362446533911137768672583025790996620083340431995824578794152403
3^142 = 56392087339601733413306017749077372989860250021295987473736382457209
3^143 = 169176262018805200239918053247232118969580750063887962421209147371627
3^144 = 507528786056415600719754159741696356908742250191663887263627442114881
3^145 = 1522586358169246802159262479225089070726226750574991661790882326344643
3^146 = 4567759074507740406477787437675267212178680251724974985372646979033929
3^147 = 13703277223523221219433362313025801636536040755174924956117940937101787
3^148 = 41109831670569663658300086939077404909608122265524774868353822811305361
3^149 = 123329495011708990974900260817232214728824366796574324605061468433916083
3^150 = 369988485035126972924700782451696644186473100389722973815184405301748249
3^151 = 1109965455105380918774102347355089932559419301169168921445553215905244747
3^152 = 3329896365316142756322307042065269797678257903507506764336659647715734241
3^153 = 9989689095948428268966921126195809393034773710522520293009978943147202723
3^154 = 29969067287845284806900763378587428179104321131567560879029936829441608169
3^155 = 89907201863535854420702290135762284537312963394702682637089810488324824507
3^156 = 269721605590607563262106870407286853611938890184108047911269431464974473521
3^157 = 809164816771822689786320611221860560835816670552324143733808294394923420563
3^158 = 2427494450315468069358961833665581682507450011656972431201424883184770261689
3^159 = 7282483350946404208076885500996745047522350034970917293604274649554310785067
3^160 = 21847450052839212624230656502990235142567050104912751880812823948662932355201
...

Who would have thought your humble Arduino could calculate 100 factorial! Or 2 to the power 300! It runs pretty fast too.

Calculate e


// BigNumber test: calculate e
#include "BigNumber.h"

// function to display a big number and free it afterwards
void printBignum (BigNumber & n)
{
  char * s = n.toString ();
  Serial.println (s);
  free (s);
}  // end of printBignum

void setup ()
{
  Serial.begin (115200);
  Serial.println ();

  BigNumber::begin (50);  // max around 160 on the Uno

  // some big numbers
  BigNumber n = 1, e = 1, one = 1;

  int i = 1;
  BigNumber E;  // previous result

  unsigned long start = millis ();
  do
  { 
    E = e;
    n *= i++;  // n is i factorial
    e += one / n;
  }  while (e != E);
  unsigned long time = millis () - start;

  printBignum (e);
  Serial.print (time);
  Serial.println (" mS");
} // end of setup

void loop () { }

Output:


2.71828182845904523536028747135266249775724709369978
629 mS

Theory:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_%28mathematical_constant%29

E can be calculated as:


1 + (1/1!) + (1/2!) + (1/3!) ...

That's why the code above is calculating running factorials, and adding the inverse of the factorial to the running total. The code breaks out of the loop when, for the desired number of decimal places, the calculated value doesn't change. That is, at this level of precision, the new amount added does not change the result.

BigNumber class

The C++ BigNumber class handles allocation and deallocation in the constructor and destructor.

For example, factorials can be produced like this:

Code:


  BigNumber::begin ();  // initialize library
 
  //factorials
  BigNumber fact = 1;

  for (int i = 2; i <= 200; i++)
  {
    Serial.print (i);
    Serial.print ("! = ");
    fact *= i;
    printBignum (fact);
  }

The normal arithmetic operations are supported (eg. assignment, add, subtract, divide, multiply, modulus). Also things like a++ or a--.

Also comparisons can be done in the natural way.

The only memory allocation you have to worry about is when you get a number to print. Since the library may have to return any size number, it does a malloc to store the number (plus a sign, and decimal point if required). It is up to you to free that string. eg.


// function to display a big number and free it afterwards
void printBignum (BigNumber n)
{
  char * s = n.toString ();
  Serial.println (s);
  free (s);
}  // end of printBignum

An important parameter is the "scale" of the number, which you can set with setScale (n). The scale is effectively the number of decimal places.

For example:


  BigNumber::begin ();  // initialize library

  BigNumber a, b = 2, c;
 
  BigNumber::setScale (0);
  a = BigNumber (1) / BigNumber (3);
  c = b.sqrt ();
  Serial.print ("1/3 = ");
  printBignum (a);
  Serial.print ("sqrt(2) = ");
  printBignum (c);

Output:


1/3 = 0
sqrt(2) = 1

Change the scale to setScale (20) and we get:


1/3 = 0.33333333333333333333
sqrt(2) = 1.41421356237309504880

Change the scale to setScale (100) and we get:


1/3 = 0.3333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333
sqrt(2) = 1.4142135623730950488016887242096980785696718753769480731766797379907324784621070388503875343276415727

So clearly the scale is affecting the results. Note that, of course, the larger the scale the slower the calculation and the more memory it will require.

Some caveats

Working with large numbers is necessarily slow - the larger the number, or the more decimal places, the slower.
Each digit requires a byte of memory, plus some overhead (eg. where the decimal point is) - large numbers will soon gobble up the available memory.
Doing a toString also requires memory - a byte per digit, plus the sign, decimal point, and trailing 0x00 byte.
An "error" condition inside the library (eg. running out of memory) calls exit(), effectively sending the library into a tight loop.
You may need to cast some numbers to avoid "ambiguous" warnings from the compiler.
If you only have 2048 bytes of RAM, you clearly need to use a library like this with caution. Running out of memory will be quite likely unless you closely manage the size of your numbers, and how many you have.
Memory fragmentation will quite possibly be a problem, particularly if you calculate numbers of different sizes (eg. factorials).

The supplied library has some example code (eg. powers, factorials, sine calculations, e^x, and ln(x) ).

Note that cosine and tangent can effectively be calculated from the sine.

- Nick Gammon

www.gammon.com.au, www.mushclient.com

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Posted by Nick Gammon Australia (22,975 posts) bio Forum Administrator

Date

Reply #1 on Tue 22 Jan 2013 05:28 AM (UTC)

Amended on Tue 22 Jan 2013 06:16 AM (UTC) by Nick Gammon

Message

Improvements to printing

Thanks to suggestions from Paul Stoffregen, the library has now been modified to allow you to directly print big numbers.

For example, the Factorials example now looks like this:


// BigNumber test: factorials
#include "BigNumber.h"

void setup ()
{
  Serial.begin (115200);
  while (!Serial) ;
  delay(500);
  Serial.println ();
  BigNumber::begin ();  // initialize library
 
  //factorials
  BigNumber fact = 1;

  for (int i = 2; i <= 200; i++)
  {
    Serial.print(i);
    Serial.print("! = ");
    fact *= i;
    Serial.println (fact);
  }

}  // end of setup

void loop () { }

Modified line in bold. This was done by deriving the BigNumber class from the Printable class. This means that you can now print big numbers from any class derived from Stream (eg. Serial, Serial1, etc.).

Also changed slightly to support chips which did not have an exit() function defined in their library.

- Nick Gammon

www.gammon.com.au, www.mushclient.com

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