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From: mueller@schaefer.math.wisc.edu (Carl Mueller)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: COMB(X,Y) function on 48sx
Message-ID: <1991Jun25.191006.4983@schaefer.math.wisc.edu>
Date: 25 Jun 91 19:10:06 GMT
References: <3238343@cc.sfu.ca> <1991Jun25.171406.17170@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Reply-To: mueller@schaefer.UUCP (Carl Mueller)
Organization: Univ. of Wisconsin Dept. of Mathematics
Lines: 27

In article <1991Jun25.171406.17170@watdragon.waterloo.edu> dwrfielder@dahlia.waterloo.edu (Dave Fielder) writes:
>In article <3238343@cc.sfu.ca> Dan_Ciarniello@cc.sfu.ca writes:
>>>Does anyone know as to why the 48sx does not like negatives
>>>in the COMB function.  They should be valid.
>>>
>>>eg. COMB(-8,4) should return (-8)(-9)(-10)(-11)/(4!) = 330.
>>>
>>HP didn't screw up on this function.  

>I find it suprizing that HP restricted the domain of COMB(n,r) such that
>n is a positive integer rather than a real.
>
Well, I'd say HP did the right thing.  Most people who use the COMB function
are using it in its usual sense.  Thus the 48 SHOULD indicate that something
is wrong if it is being fed negative or fractional values as input.  If you want
the extended version, you can program it yourself.

>Just my $.02 worth. 
>
>--Dave Hubert
>  3A Math Non-Specailist
>  Faculty of Mathematics
>  University of Waterloo, Canada.

Adding my $.02.

Carl Mueller (mueller@math.wisc.edu)