Pseudo code to C help needed

M

Mark Storkamp

I've got a pdf file with some pseudo code that seems to have been
written by someone familiar with C++. I'm implementing the code in C,
but need help translating one particular line:

const int imax = 2*std::numeric_limits<Real>::max_exponent;

Can someone explain this and give me an equivalent C line of code? It
then iterates through a loop imax times.

The purpose of the whole routine is to find the distance from a point to
an ellipse. It's using a modified version of Newton's Method to solve
for the distance, and that's the loop that's being iterated through.
 
L

Lew Pitcher

I've got a pdf file with some pseudo code that seems to have been
written by someone familiar with C++. I'm implementing the code in C,
but need help translating one particular line:

const int imax = 2*std::numeric_limits<Real>::max_exponent;

Can someone explain this

For an explanation of a C++ (or C++-like) line of code, you should ask in
comp.lang.c++

We here in comp.lang.c can /guess/ what the line of code represents, but you
will never be certain of that guess' accuracy.
and give me an equivalent C line of code?

Tell us what the line represents, and we can give you the equivalent C code.
 
K

Ken Brody

I've got a pdf file with some pseudo code that seems to have been written
by someone familiar with C++. I'm implementing the code in C, but need
help translating one particular line:

const int imax = 2*std::numeric_limits<Real>::max_exponent;

Can someone explain this and give me an equivalent C line of code? It
then iterates through a loop imax times.
[...]

You might get a better answer in comp.lang.c++ as to what that statement
means. However, a quick search for
std::numeric_limits said:
The value of std::numeric_limits<T>::max_exponent is the largest positive
number n such that 10^(n-1) is a representable finite value of the
floating-point type T.

And this page gives a chart of #defines:

http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/types/numeric_limits/max_exponent

My guess is that it is the equivalent of:

const int imax = 2*(LDBL_MAX_EXP);

(I guess it depends on what type "Real" is.)
 
J

James Kuyper

I've got a pdf file with some pseudo code that seems to have been
written by someone familiar with C++. I'm implementing the code in C,
but need help translating one particular line:

const int imax = 2*std::numeric_limits<Real>::max_exponent;

C++ supports class templates. std::numeric_limits<T> is one such
template, where T identifies the type for which the template is to be
instantiated. This template has been specialize by the C++
implementation of the C++ standard library, for every arithmetic type
supported by that implementation of C++.. One element of
std::numeric_limits<T> is named max_exponent - it's the maximum value
for the exponent such that std::numeric_limits<T>::radix raised to that
power, -1, is a value representable in type T.

The identifier "Real" is a type name, presumably a typedef for a
floating point type.
Can someone explain this and give me an equivalent C line of code?

There's no exact equivalent, since C does not have templates. However,
if you know which C type "Real" corresponds with, you can find the
following macros #defined in <float.h>:

T max_exponent
=========== ============
float FLT_MAX_EXP
double DBL_MAX_EXP
long double LDBL_MAX_EXP
 
B

BartC

Mark Storkamp said:
I've got a pdf file with some pseudo code that seems to have been
written by someone familiar with C++. I'm implementing the code in C,
but need help translating one particular line:

const int imax = 2*std::numeric_limits<Real>::max_exponent;

Can someone explain this and give me an equivalent C line of code? It
then iterates through a loop imax times.

The 'std::numeric_limits<Real>::' is just some stuff that tells it where to
find 'max_exponent' (perhaps with some generics thrown in).

This might be equivalent to FLT_MAX_EXP or DBL_MAX_EXP in C (which seems to
return it as a binary count). I believe from float.h.

It anyway sounds an unlikely requirement for an algorithm to do with
ellipses. You can try setting imax=42 and see what happens.
 
J

James Kuyper

For an explanation of a C++ (or C++-like) line of code, you should ask in
comp.lang.c++

We here in comp.lang.c can /guess/ what the line of code represents, but you
will never be certain of that guess' accuracy.


Tell us what the line represents, and we can give you the equivalent C code.

Answering his question requires a knowledge of both C++ and C; that
combination can be found either in a C++ newsgroup or a C newsgroup - I
think it's equally topical (or, if you insist that it's not topical,
euqally untopical) in either newsgroup.
 
B

Ben Bacarisse

Mark Storkamp said:
I've got a pdf file with some pseudo code that seems to have been
written by someone familiar with C++. I'm implementing the code in C,
but need help translating one particular line:

const int imax = 2*std::numeric_limits<Real>::max_exponent;

Can someone explain this and give me an equivalent C line of code? It
then iterates through a loop imax times.

You'd #include <float.h> and then use one of the three constants

FLT_MAX_EXP
DBL_MAX_EXP
LDBL_MAX_EXP

depending on what type 'Real' denotes (I'd guess it's a typedef):

const int imax = 2 * DBL_MAX_EXP;

I wonder what the 2 is there for. In case it matters, it's possible
that 2 * DBL_MAX_EXP != DBL_MAX_EXP - DBL_MIN_EXP.

[C++ explanation: std::numeric_limits is a class in the std namespace
(the namespace used by the standard library) which includes a bunch of
constants pertaining to numerical limits. It's what's call a templated
class, in that there is, in some sense, a version of it for any suitable
type written inside the <>s. So std::numeric_limits<float>::max_exponent
is a constant equivalent to C's FLT_MAX_EXP.]

If the C++ code is parameterised by the floating point type used, you
might have to use some combination of macros, the type generic maths
functions, and C11's new _Generic construct to get a faithful
translation. Why not to use C++?
 
M

Mark Storkamp

Ben Bacarisse said:
Mark Storkamp said:
I've got a pdf file with some pseudo code that seems to have been
written by someone familiar with C++. I'm implementing the code in C,
but need help translating one particular line:

const int imax = 2*std::numeric_limits<Real>::max_exponent;

Can someone explain this and give me an equivalent C line of code? It
then iterates through a loop imax times.

You'd #include <float.h> and then use one of the three constants

FLT_MAX_EXP
DBL_MAX_EXP
LDBL_MAX_EXP

depending on what type 'Real' denotes (I'd guess it's a typedef):

const int imax = 2 * DBL_MAX_EXP;

I wonder what the 2 is there for. In case it matters, it's possible
that 2 * DBL_MAX_EXP != DBL_MAX_EXP - DBL_MIN_EXP.

[C++ explanation: std::numeric_limits is a class in the std namespace
(the namespace used by the standard library) which includes a bunch of
constants pertaining to numerical limits. It's what's call a templated
class, in that there is, in some sense, a version of it for any suitable
type written inside the <>s. So std::numeric_limits<float>::max_exponent
is a constant equivalent to C's FLT_MAX_EXP.]

If the C++ code is parameterised by the floating point type used, you
might have to use some combination of macros, the type generic maths
functions, and C11's new _Generic construct to get a faithful
translation. Why not to use C++?

Thanks for the explanation. As to why I'm not doing it in C++: I'm doing
a single specific implementation of the function using floats, and
adding it to a large project that's already written in C. So I don't
need to worry about combinations of macros and type generic routines.
And because the pseudo code is not a complete C++ program, but pseudo
code with some C++ constructs, and I only learned C++ back before
templates and all the other modern enhancements, I'm not really up to
the task.
 
M

Mark Storkamp

Mark Storkamp said:
I've got a pdf file with some pseudo code that seems to have been
written by someone familiar with C++. I'm implementing the code in C,
but need help translating one particular line:

const int imax = 2*std::numeric_limits<Real>::max_exponent;

Can someone explain this and give me an equivalent C line of code? It
then iterates through a loop imax times.

The purpose of the whole routine is to find the distance from a point to
an ellipse. It's using a modified version of Newton's Method to solve
for the distance, and that's the loop that's being iterated through.

Thanks to all who responded, 2*FLT_MAX_EXP is what it will be.
 
E

Eric Sosman

I've got a pdf file with some pseudo code that seems to have been written
by someone familiar with C++. I'm implementing the code in C, but need
help translating one particular line:

const int imax = 2*std::numeric_limits<Real>::max_exponent;

Can someone explain this and give me an equivalent C line of code? It
then iterates through a loop imax times.
[...]

You might get a better answer in comp.lang.c++ as to what that statement
means. However, a quick search for
std::numeric_limits said:
The value of std::numeric_limits<T>::max_exponent is the largest positive
number n such that 10^(n-1) is a representable finite value of the
floating-point type T.

Aside: This description differs from the one at

<http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/limits/numeric_limits/>

.... in that the former assumes radix ten while the latter allows
for other radices. Since actual floating-point implementations
almost never use radix ten, taking the first description at face
value might be ill-advised.

Just because a search found something doesn't mean the search
has found Truth. "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog."
 
G

glen herrmannsfeldt

Eric Sosman said:
Aside: This description differs from the one at

<http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/limits/numeric_limits/>
... in that the former assumes radix ten while the latter allows
for other radices. Since actual floating-point implementations
almost never use radix ten, taking the first description at face
value might be ill-advised.

There is also FLT_MAX_10_EXP

Also, since radix 10 floating point is now part of the IEEE standard,
one might see more implementations supporting it.

As far as I know, now only on IBM z/ machines.
Just because a search found something doesn't mean the search
has found Truth. "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog."

-- glen
 
J

James Kuyper

....
If the C++ code is parameterised by the floating point type used, you
might have to use some combination of macros, the type generic maths
functions, and C11's new _Generic construct to get a faithful
translation.

I'd forgotten about _Generic. The OP has already indicated that he only
needs to cover the case where Real is float, but here's my attempt at a
more faithful equivalent:

#include <float.h>
#define MAX_EXPONENT(type) _Generic((type)0, float: FLT_MAX_EXP, \
double:DBL_MAX_EXP, long double:LDBL_MAX_EXP)

const int imax = 2*MAX_EXPONENT(Real);

The only C compiler I have access to at the moment doesn't support
C2011, so I can't test this code right, and this is my very first
attempt to use this feature, so expect that it may contain errors.
 
B

Ben Bacarisse

I'd forgotten about _Generic. The OP has already indicated that he only
needs to cover the case where Real is float, but here's my attempt at a
more faithful equivalent:

#include <float.h>
#define MAX_EXPONENT(type) _Generic((type)0, float: FLT_MAX_EXP, \
double:DBL_MAX_EXP, long double:LDBL_MAX_EXP)

const int imax = 2*MAX_EXPONENT(Real);

The only C compiler I have access to at the moment doesn't support
C2011, so I can't test this code right, and this is my very first
attempt to use this feature, so expect that it may contain errors.

clang likes it.
 
G

glen herrmannsfeldt

The original message specified
std::numeric_limits<Real>::max_exponent, not
std::numeric_limits<Real>::max_exponent10.

A previous post suggested that it was base 10.

-- glen
 
J

James Kuyper

A previous post suggested that it was base 10.

True, but that was based upon an incorrect description of max_exponent;
one that is inconsistent with the C++ standard. I just noticed that Eric
Sosman only expressed skepticism about the incorrect description - he
did seem to be sure that it was incorrect. The C++ standard describes
max_exponent as:

"Maximum positive integer such that radix raised to the power one less
than that integer is a representable finite floating point number."
(18.3.2.4p31)

The C standard describes the *_MAX_EXP macros as "maximum integer such
that FLT_RADIX raised to one less than that power is a representable
finite floating-point number,". (5.2.4.2.2p11)
 
K

Keith Thompson

Mark Storkamp said:
Thanks for the explanation. As to why I'm not doing it in C++: I'm doing
a single specific implementation of the function using floats, and
adding it to a large project that's already written in C. So I don't
need to worry about combinations of macros and type generic routines.
And because the pseudo code is not a complete C++ program, but pseudo
code with some C++ constructs, and I only learned C++ back before
templates and all the other modern enhancements, I'm not really up to
the task.

Why are you using floats rather than doubles? double tends to be the
"default" floating-point type in C.
 
G

glen herrmannsfeldt

(snip, and previoulsy I wrote)
True, but that was based upon an incorrect description of max_exponent;
one that is inconsistent with the C++ standard. I just noticed that Eric
Sosman only expressed skepticism about the incorrect description - he
did seem to be sure that it was incorrect. The C++ standard describes
max_exponent as:
"Maximum positive integer such that radix raised to the power one less
than that integer is a representable finite floating point number."
(18.3.2.4p31)

In that case, I suggest 7*FLT_MAX_10_EXP.

That is, with 7 an integer near 2*log(10)/log(2).

As far as I know, (int)(FLT_MAX_EXP*log(2)/log(FLT_RADIX))

Could be a little closer with 66*FLT_MAX_10_EXP/10.

is not a constant expression, as one might want in this case.
The C standard describes the *_MAX_EXP macros as "maximum integer such
that FLT_RADIX raised to one less than that power is a representable
finite floating-point number,". (5.2.4.2.2p11)

and so usually should be used in a context using FLT_RADIX.

-- glen
 
J

James Kuyper

(snip, and previoulsy I wrote)



In that case, I suggest 7*FLT_MAX_10_EXP.

The description of std::numeric_limits<T>::max_exponent in the C++
standard is almost an exact match for the description of the *_MAX_EXP
macros in the C standard. If Real is a typedef for float, which appears
to be the case, why would you use anything other than FLT_MAX_EXP as a C
replacement for that C++ expression? What advantage do you see from the
use of 7*FLT_MAX_10_EXP instead? I see one substantial disadvantage: if
FLT_MAX_EXP is not an exact multiple of 7 (and in general, it won't be),
then 7*FLT_MAX_10_EXP cannot have the same value as FLT_MAX_EXP. Can you
come up with any advantage to make up for that disadvantage?
and so usually should be used in a context using FLT_RADIX.

FLT_RADIX in the description of C's *_MAX_EXP macros corresponds exactly
to the C++ std::numeric_limits<T>::radix, which is simply referred to as
"radix" in the description of std::numeric_limits<T>::max_exponent.
 

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