Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!dali.cs.montana.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!zazen!schaefer.math.wisc.edu!mueller
From: mueller@schaefer.math.wisc.edu (Carl Mueller)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: COMB(X,Y) function on 48sx
Message-ID: <1991Jun26.133204.11796@schaefer.math.wisc.edu>
Date: 26 Jun 91 13:32:04 GMT
References: <3238343@cc.sfu.ca> <1991Jun25.171406.17170@watdragon.waterloo.edu> <1991Jun25.191006.4983@schaefer.math.wisc.edu> <2141@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au>
Reply-To: mueller@schaefer.UUCP (Carl Mueller)
Organization: Univ. of Wisconsin Dept. of Mathematics
Lines: 21

In article <2141@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au> grue@cs.uq.oz.au writes:
>In <1991Jun25.191006.4983@schaefer.math.wisc.edu> mueller@schaefer.math.wisc.edu (Carl Mueller) writes:
>
[STUFF DELETED]
>
>Then why did they include the gamma function instead of a simple factorial?
>
OK, maybe this will clear stuff up.  They includede BOTH the gamma function 
and the factorial function.  The factorial function requires non-negative
integers as input (or should ... I don't have my calculator [can we call it
that?] with me to check), the gamma function requires anything but negative
integers as input.  The factorial function is simply no defined for fractional
or negative numbers.  Thus the gamma function is provided.  Perhaps HP should
have provided a generalized COMB function in addition to the COMB function
that is provided which (apparently -- though I haven't checked) is defined
only for integers.
>
>        						Pauli
>seeya
>
Carl Mueller (mueller@math.wisc.edu)