To control the number of digits displayed for floating-point numbers, set
fpprintprec. To calculate to an arbitrary precision, use fpprec and use
bigfloats (with B instead of E for the exponent).
Example:
(%i1) sin(2.3);
(%o1) 0.74570521217672 <<< regular
floating point
(%i2) fpprintprec:4;
(%o2) 4
(%i3) sin(2.3);
(%o3) 0.75 <<< should
really have printed 0.7457
(%i4) sin(2.3b0);
(%o4) 7.457b-1 <<< bfloats can
have their precision set, but display is also controlled by fpprintprec
(%i5) fpprec:100;
(%o5) 100
(%i6) sin(2.3b0);
(%o6) 7.457b-1 <<< calculated to 100
digits, but displayed to 4 digits
(%i7) fpprintprec:fpprec;
(%o7) 100
(%i8) sin(2.3b0);
(%o8)
7.457052121767201773854062116434995389426487780204742575076282805000009931390472578711914171840928876b-1
(%i9) %o4;
(%o9) 7.457052121767202b-1 <<< %o4
was calculated to default fpprec (16)
(%i10) %o6;
(%o10)
7.457052121767201773854062116434995389426487780204742575076282805000009931390472578711914171840928876b-1
<<< %o6
was calculated with fpprec=100; here is the full display
On Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 7:56 AM, Chibisi Chima-Okereke <chibco at gmail.com>
wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> I am a new user to Maxima, and I can't see a function to display numerical
> outputs to a certain number of significant figures or decimal places. I have
> seen the floor, ceiling, and round functions, but was wandering if there is
> something for significant figures or decimal places.
>
> Kind Regards
>
> Chibisi
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Maxima at math.utexas.edu
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>
>