Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!waikato.ac.nz!comp.vuw.ac.nz!am.dsir.govt.nz!robert
From: robert@am.dsir.govt.nz (Robert Davies)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: taking powers with "^"
Message-ID: <1991Jun23.210456.27280@am.dsir.govt.nz>
Date: 23 Jun 91 21:04:56 GMT
References: <1920003@hpsad.HP.COM> <1991Jun22.144159.18138@mathcs.sjsu.edu>
Organization: DSIR Applied Mathematics, Wellington, NZ
Lines: 14

Wouldn't it be nice if C++ introduced a new operator - eg @ or @@
for taking powers.

eg  2 @@ 3  would be 8.

As already noted, I think it is very dangerous to use ^ as an
overloaded operator for taking powers. Especially as 2 ^ 3 gets
something completely different.

(I know that C was considered to difficult/dangerous for numerical
people who should stick to Fortran, so there was no need for a
power operator. But with C++ perhaps this policy should be reconsidered.)

Robert