Lesson 14 - Mathematical functions in C# .NET - The Math library
Lesson highlights
Are you looking for a quick reference on The Math library in C# .NET instead of a thorough-full lesson? Here it is:
Using Math
constants:
{CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Console.WriteLine("Pi: {0} \ne: {1}", Math.PI, Math.E); // using Math constants
{/CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Min/max of 2 values:
{CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Console.WriteLine("Min: {0}", Math.Min(5, 10));
Console.WriteLine("Max: {0}", Math.Max(5, 10));
{/CSHARP_CONSOLE}
All roundings:
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Console.WriteLine("Round: {0}", Math.Round(-0.2));
Console.WriteLine("Ceiling: {0}", Math.Ceiling(-0.2));
Console.WriteLine("Floor: {0}", Math.Floor(-0.2));
Console.WriteLine("Truncate: {0}", Math.Truncate(-0.2));
double d = 2.72;
int a = (int)Math.Round(d); // casting the rounded double to the int type
{/CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Abs/signum:
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Console.WriteLine("Abs: {0}", Math.Abs(-10));
Console.WriteLine("Sign: {0}", Math.Sign(-10));
{/CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Trigonometric functions:
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Console.WriteLine("Sin: {0}", Math.Sin(Math.PI)); // almost 0
Console.WriteLine("Cos: {0}", Math.Cos(Math.PI));
Console.WriteLine("Tan: {0}", Math.Tan(Math.PI)); // almost 0
Console.WriteLine("Acos: {0}", Math.Acos(0));
Console.WriteLine("Asin: {0}", Math.Asin(-1));
Console.WriteLine("Atan: {0}", Math.Atan(0));
{/CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Powers, roots, logarithms:
{CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Console.WriteLine("Pow: {0}", Math.Pow(2, 3));
Console.WriteLine("Sqrt: {0}", Math.Sqrt(144));
Console.WriteLine("Exp: {0}", Math.Exp(2));
Console.WriteLine("Log: {0}", Math.Log(100));
Console.WriteLine("Log10: {0}", Math.Log10(100));
{/CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Dividing whole numbers in C# always results in another whole number:
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int a = 5 / 2;
double b = 5 / 2;
double c = 5.0 / 2;
double d = 5 / 2.0;
double e = 5.0 / 2.0;
// int f = 5 / 2.0;
Console.WriteLine("{0}\n{1}\n{2}\n{3}\n{4}", a, b, c, d, e);
Console.ReadKey();
{/CSHARP_CONSOLE}
The remainder after division (modulo):
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Console.WriteLine(5 % 2); // prints 1
{/CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Would you like to learn more? A complete lesson on this topic follows.
Last time we learned about multi-dimensional arrays in C# .NET. Learning C# .NET actually starts from now on, however, this online course of the most basic constructs of the language will be finished today. I'm glad that we've successfully reached this point. The next online course is focused on object-oriented programming. We'll create really interesting applications and even one game. We'll end this course with a simple article about mathematical functions that will certainly come in handy in our future programs.
In .NET, basic mathematical functions are included in the
Math
class. The class provides 2 fundamental
constants for us: PI
and E
. PI
is for
sure the number Pi (3.1415
...), and E
is Euler's
number, the base of the natural logarithm (2.7182
...). I'm sure
you'll get how to work with it, but just to be sure let's print these constants
to the console:
{CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Console.WriteLine("Pi: {0} \ne: {1}", Math.PI, Math.E);
Console.ReadKey();
{/CSHARP_CONSOLE}
We see that we call everything in the Math
class. There is
nothing interesting about this code except that we've used the special character
\n
, which breaks a line.
Console application
Pi: 3.14159265358979
e: 2.71828182845905
Now, let's go over the methods that the Math class provides:
Math
class methods
Min()
, Max()
Let's start with the simple methods Both functions take two numbers of any data type as parameters.
Min()
returns the smallest number, Max()
returns the
greatest one.
Round()
,
Ceiling()
, Floor()
and Truncate()
All three functions are related to rounding. Round()
takes a
decimal number as parameter and returns the rounded number of the
double
data type in the way we learned in school (from
0.5
it rounds upwards, otherwise downwards). Ceiling()
upwards and Floor()
rounds downwards no matter what.
Truncate()
cuts the decimal part off and leaves whole number part
intact (does not round whatsoever).
We'll certainly be using Round()
very often. I practically used
the other functions e.g. in determining the number of pages of a guestbook. When
we've 33 comments and we print only 10 comments per page, they'll, therefore,
occupy 3.3 pages. The result must be rounded up since there will be actually 4
pages.
If you think that Floor()
and Truncate()
do the
same thing, think again! They behave differently for negative numbers.
Floor()
rounds negative numbers down to the next "more negative"
number, Truncate()
always rounds to zero when the input is
negative.
We round decimal numbers and store them in int
variables like
this:
double d = 2.72; int a = (int)Math.Round(d);
Casting to int
is necessary despite of the Round()
method returns a whole number. However, it's still of the double
type, due to the fact that all mathematical functions work with
double
.
Abs()
and Sign()
Both methods take a number of any type as a parameter. Abs()
returns its absolute value and Sign()
returns a number based on its
sign, -1
, 0
or 1
(for a negative number,
zero and a positive number).
Sin()
, Cos()
,
Tan()
Classic trigonometric functions, all take an angle as a double, which has to
be entered in radians (not degrees if your country uses them). To convert
degrees to radians we multiply them by * (Math.PI / 180)
. The
return value is also a double
.
Acos()
, Asin()
,
Atan()
Inverse trigonometric (arcus, sometimes cyclometric) functions, which return
the original angle according to the trigonometric value. The parameter is a
double
and the returned angle is in radians (also as
double
). If we wish to have an angle in degrees, we have to divide
the radians by / (180 / Math.PI).
Pow()
and Sqrt()
Pow()
takes two double
parameters. The first is the
base of the power and the second is the exponent. If we wanted to calculate eg.
23, the code would be as following:
{CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Console.WriteLine(Math.Pow(2, 3));
{/CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Sqrt()
is an abbreviation of SQuare RooT, which returns the
square root of the number given as a double
. Both functions return
a double
as the result.
Exp()
, Log()
,
Log10()
Exp()
returns the Euler's number raised to a given exponent.
Log()
returns the natural logarithm of a given number.
Log10()
returns the decadic logarithm of a number.
Hopefully, you noticed that the method list lacks any general root function.
We, however, can calculate it using the functions the Math
class
provides.
We know that roots work like this: 3rd root of 8 = 8^(1/3). So we can write:
{CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Console.WriteLine(Math.Pow(8, (1.0/3.0)));
{/CSHARP_CONSOLE}
It's very important to write at least one number with a decimal point when we are dividing, otherwise, C# will assume that we want it to apply whole-number division, and the result would have been 8 ^ 0 = 1 in this case.
Division
Programming languages often differ in how they perform the division of numbers. You need to be aware of these issues to avoid being, unpleasantly, surprised afterwards. Let's write a simple program:
{CSHARP_CONSOLE}
int a = 5 / 2;
double b = 5 / 2;
double c = 5.0 / 2;
double d = 5 / 2.0;
double e = 5.0 / 2.0;
// int f = 5 / 2.0;
Console.WriteLine("{0}\n{1}\n{2}\n{3}\n{4}", a, b, c, d, e);
Console.ReadKey();
{/CSHARP_CONSOLE}
We divide 5/2 for several times in the code, which is mathematically 2.5.
Nonetheless, the results will not be the same in all cases. Can you guess what
we'll get in each case? Go ahead, give it a try
The code wouldn't compile because of the line with the variable
f
, which we commented. The problem is that in this case is that one
of the results is a decimal number, which we're trying to assign to an
int
variable. The program output will be the following:
Console application
2
2
2.5
2.5
2.5
We see the result of this division is sometimes decimal and sometimes whole. It doesn't really matter what the data type of the variable we're assigning the result to is. What really matters is the data type of the numbers we divide by. If one of the numbers is decimal, the outcome will always result in a decimal number. Division of 2 integers always returns an integer. Keep in mind that if you compute the average and want a decimal result, at least one variable must be cast to double.
int sum = 10; int count = 4; double average = (double)sum / count;
For example, the PHP language always returns the decimal result of the division. When you divide in different programming languages make sure you check how division works there first before you use it.
The remainder after division
In our applications, we often need the remainder after integer division (i.e. modulo). In our example 5/2, the integer result is 2 and modulo is 1 (what left over). Modulo is often used to determine whether a number is even (remainder of division by 2 is 0). Modulo is useful if you want, for example, to draw a checkerboard and fill in the fields based on whether they are even or odd, to calculate the deviance of your position from some square grid, and so on.
In C# .NET and C-like languages in general, modulo is a percent sign, i.e.
%
:
{CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Console.WriteLine(5 % 2); // prints 1
{/CSHARP_CONSOLE}
Well, that's all I've got for you in this course. If you'd like to learn more
about the Basic constructs of C# .NET or feel like
you need more practice, take another look at the articles and lesson-specific
exercises. Our C# course will be continued in Basics of
object-oriented programming in C# .NET. In the "next lesson":
csharp/oop/introduction-to-object-oriented-programming-in-csharp we'll
introduce you to an object-oriented world. We'll get acquainted with many things
that have been kept secret from us until now
In the next lesson, The most common C# beginner mistakes - Naming variables , we'll show you the most common beginner mistakes in C# .NET regarding variable naming.
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