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From: jst@abic.UUCP (Shack Toms)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c,net.arch
Subject: Re: Integer division
Message-ID: <736@abic.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Feb-86 11:02:54 EST
Article-I.D.: abic.736
Posted: Thu Feb 13 11:02:54 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Feb-86 02:09:20 EST
References: <11603@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <4917@alice.UUCP> <11671@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <731@abic.UUCP> <11774@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
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Xref: watmath net.lang.c:7859 net.arch:2514

> In article <731@abic.UUCP> jst@abic.UUCP (Shack Toms) writes:
> >However:  One might use a%b<0 iff a<0 in an algorithm which printed
> >the value of an integer in a given radix.  The least significant
> >digit of a in radix b would then be |a%b|.  :-)
> 
> So would |a|%b, and it works under either convention.  :-)

Except that |a| is not available for the full range of a.  In
particular, on a 16 bit computer |-32768| is not expressible.

The real point [of the :-)] is that it is just as easy to
correct the result of a%b in the range [0..b) as it is to 
perform the absolute value function.  That is:

    result = a%b;
    if (result < 0) result = -result;

is no easier than

    result = a%b;
    if (a < 0) result = b - result;

Shack Toms