DC - 6² isn't written 6^2?
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@Matt you are correct, that will give you the right answer and it will work for only positive values.
If b is negative and a is odd, then you can multiply by -1 to get the correct answer. If a is negative then you want 1/x at the end, instead of x.
So a general formula might be:
b^a = IF(SIGN(a)=1, IF((SIGN(b)=-1) AND (ISODD(a)), -1, 1)*EXP(a*LN(b)), 1/(IF((SIGN(b)=-1) AND (ISODD(a)), -1, 1)*EXP(a*LN(b)))Yeah, it would be nice if ^ worked.
It is late here, so you may want to check that formula before relying on it.
@Chris, there is no e in the example because e is a mathematical constant and the basis for exponentials (ie ^). It is the value where e^x = d/dx e^x and e^πi=-1
It's a very important number, but one you will only come across if you do a fair amount of calculus, probably. It makes sense that if you only have one exponential function available that it should be that one, but I would like ^ all the same.
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Hi
Just an idea but I'm not sure it's that you want.
When I open my terminal and turn on irb, If I type 6**2 and return, I get 36.cheers.
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Good idea, but doesn't work in DC's. 6**2 just returns 12.
Chris
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A ruby plugin who doesn't understand ruby language
cheers
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I'm really sorry to revive this old post, but I'm wondering if the ^ operator has been implimented yet. I've tried to use it using the latest sketchup update (7.1.6087) and it seems to still be missing. It would be nice if Google created a quick fix or patch for this, since it is a very useful operator right next to the four basic operators (+-*/).
Thanks in advance for your help.
Still
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It has not been implemented yet. I'm sure they've forgotten about it
Chris
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Hey guys,
We haven't forgotten about this. It's a surprisingly non trivial thing to fix. The actual coding is easy, but then we're introducing a new "version" of DCs that won't work on older Sketchup installs. Your DC that uses ^ would work great in SU 7.1, for example, but not work in 7.0.
If your reply to that is "who cares! people can get a free upgrade!", then let me know and I'll add that to the feature request. In general, we lean toward backwards compatibility.
Cheers,
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who cares! people can get a free upgrade!
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uuuh. tricky one. never would have thought about that. but its true, compatibility is a good thing.
although its probably more important for SU 7.1 to read a SU 7 DC properly than for SU 7 to read a SU 7.1 DC properly...therefore in that particular case, I, too, would say: "who cares! people can get a free upgrade!"
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+1
I'd hate to think that the feature never gets added just to try and keep backwards compatibility. By time we get to verion 10, I think people will be more upset if DC's haven't been improved since v7.0 than if they don't have great backwards compatibility.
Chris
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