Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!sri-spam!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!hplabs!hpcea!hpfcdc!hpfelg!jk
From: jk@hpfelg.HP.COM (John Kessenich)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Re: Power proposal for ANSI C -- we already have what we need
Message-ID: <690002@hpfelg.HP.COM>
Date: 12 Jan 88 00:50:25 GMT
References: <38384@sun.uucp>
Organization: HP Elec. Design Div. -FtCollins
Lines: 28

I agree that an exponentiation operator makes sense in 'C' for small
integer exponents for the many good reasons given elsewhere, and
support its addition (but not if it means more delay).

Also, its precedence obviously belongs somewhere between that of 
(not inclusive) unary operators and punctuation operators.

But, since exponentiation is not associative, order of evaluation is also 
important (what is (x ** 2 ** 3) ?).

I propose the more mathematically correct interpretation of right to
left (as in assignment), not the normal left to right (used for most
operators).  That is,

                                      3
                                    2                       8            6
     x ** 2 ** 3       means      x        which equals   x      not   x


thus x ** 2 ** 3 is interpreted as x ** (2 ** 3).


By the way, if *^ is adopted for exponents, why not /^ for roots?
(don't take this too seriously :-) ).

---------------

John Kessenich