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                               SECTION 13

                    NUMBERS AND ARITHMETIC FUNCTIONS



13.0 General Comments

There are three different types of numbers in INTERLISP: small integers,
                                            1
large integers, and  floating point numbers.   Since a large  integer or
floating point number can be (in value) any full word quantity (and vice
versa),  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish  between  those   full  word
quantities that represent large integers or floating point  numbers, and
other INTERLISP pointers.  We do  this by "boxing" the number,  which is
sort of like  a special "cons": when  a large integer or  floating point
number is created  (via an arithmetic  operation or by  read), INTERLISP
gets a  new word  from "number storage"  and puts  the large  integer or
floating point number into that word.  INTERLISP then passes  around the
pointer to that word, i.e.,  the "boxed number", rather than  the actual
quantity itself.  Then when a numeric function needs the  actual numeric
quantity,  it  performs the  extra  level of  addressing  to  obtain the
"value" of the number.  This latter process is called  "unboxing".  Note
that unboxing does not use  any storage, but that each  boxing operation
uses one  new word of  number storage.  Thus,  if a  computation creates
many large integers or floating point numbers, i.e., does lots of boxes,
it may cause a garbage collection of large integer space, GC: 18,  or of
                                    2
floating point number space, GC: 16.


13.1 Integer Arithmetic

Small Integers

Small  integers  are  those  integers  for  which  smallp  is  true.  In



------------------------------------------------------------------------
1
    Floating point numbers are created  by the read program when a  . or
    an E appears in a number, e.g., 1000 is an integer, 1000. a floating
    point number, as are 1E3 and 1.E3. Note that 1000D, 1000F,  and 1E3D
    are perfectly legal literal atoms.

2
    Different implementations of  INTERLISP-10 may use  different boxing
    strategies.  Thus, while lots  of arithmetic operations may  lead to
    garbage collections, this is not necessarily always the case.




                                  13.1



INTERLISP-10, these are integers whose absolute value is less than 1536.
Small integers are boxed by  offsetting them by a constant so  that they
overlay an area of INTERLISP's address space that does not correspond to
any INTERLISP  data type.  Thus  boxing small numbers  does not  use any
storage, and furthermore, each small number has a unique representation,
so that eq may  be used to check equality.   Note that eq should  not be
used   for   large   integers   or   floating   point   numbers,   e.g.,
eq[2000;add1[1999]] is NIL!  eqp or equal must be used instead.


Integer Functions

All of the functions described below work on integers.  Unless specified
otherwise,  if given  a floating  point number,  they first  convert the
number  to  an  integer   by  truncating  the  fractional   bits,  e.g.,
iplus[2.3;3.8]=5;  if given  a  non-numeric argument,  they  generate an
error, NON-NUMERIC ARG.

It  is  important  to use  the  integer  arithmetic  functions, whenever
possible, in place of the more general arithmetic functions  which allow
mixed  floating  point  and integer  arithmetic,  e.g.,  iplus  vs plus,
igreaterp vs greaterp, because  the integer functions compile  open, and
therefore run faster than the general arithmetic functions,  and because
the  compiler  is  "smart"  about  eliminating  unnecessary  boxing  and
unboxing.  Thus, the expression
(IPLUS (IQUOTIENT (ITIMES N 100) M) (ITIMES X Y))   will    compile   to
perform only one box, the outer one, and the expression
(IGREATERP (IPLUS X Y) (IDIFFERENCE A B)) will  compile to do  no boxing
at all.

Note that the PDP-10  is a 36 bit  machine, so that in  INTERLISP-10 all
                                          3
integers  are  between  -2^35 and  2^35-1.   Adding  two  integers which
produce a result outside this range causes overflow, e.g., 2^34 + 2^34.

The procedure  on overflow  is to return  the largest  possible integer,
                               4
i.e., in INTERLISP-10 2^35 - 1.


iplus[x1;x2;...;xn]     x1 + x2 + ... + xn


iminus[x]               - x


idifference[x;y]        x - y




------------------------------------------------------------------------
3
    Approximately 34 billion

4
    If the overflow occurs by trying to create a negative number  of too
    large a magnitude, -2^35+1 is used instead of 2^35-1.




                                  13.2



add1[x]                 x + 1


sub1[x]                 x - 1


itimes[x1;x2;...;xn]    the product of x1,x2,...xn


iquotient[x;y]          x/y truncated, e.g., iquotient[3;2]=1,
                        iquotient[-3,2]=-1


iremainder[x;y]         the  remainder when  x  is divided  by  y, e.g.,
                        iremainder [3;2]=1


igreaterp[x;y]          T, if x > y; NIL otherwise


ilessp[x;y]             T, if x < y; NIL otherwise


ieqp[n;m]               T, if  n and  m are eq,  or equal  integers, NIL
                        otherwise. Note that eq  may be used if n  and m
                        are known to be small integers.  ieqp converts n
                        and  m to  integers,  e.g., ieqp[2000;2000.3]=T.
                        ieqp compiles open.


zerop[x]                defined as eq[x;0].


Note that zerop should not be used for floating point numbers because it
uses eq.  Use eqp[x;0] instead.


minusp[x]               T  if x  is negative;  NIL otherwise.   Does not
                        convert x to an integer, but simply  checks sign
                        bit.


eqp[n;m]                T,  if n  and m  are eq,  or equal  numbers, NIL
                                  5
                        otherwise.  Note that eq may be used if n  and m
                        are known  to be small  integers.  eqp  does not
                        convert   n    and   m   to    integers,   e.g.,
                        eqp[2000;2000.3]=NIL,  but  it  can  be  used to
                        compare an integer and a floating  point number,
                        e.g., eqp[2000;2000.0]=T.  eqp does not generate
                        an error if n or m are not numbers.



------------------------------------------------------------------------
5
    eqp is also T  if n and m are  both stack descriptors that  refer to
    the same frame extension (see Section 12).




                                  13.3



smallp[n]               n, if  n is a  small integer, else  NIL.  smallp
                        does not generate an error if n is not a number.


fixp[x]                 x,  if  x is  an  integer, else  NIL.   Does not
                        generate an error if x is not a number.


fix[x]                  Converts   x   to  an   integer   by  truncating
                        fractional   bits,  e.g.,   fix[2.3] = 2,  fix[-
                        1.7] = -1.  If x is already an integer, fix[x]=x
                                                    6
                        and doesn't use any storage.


logand[x1;x2;...;xn]    lambda no-spread,  value is  logical and  of all
                        its    arguments,   as    an    integer,   e.g.,
                        logand[7;5;6]=4.


logor[x1;x2;...;xn]     lambda no-spread, value is the logical or of all
                        its    arguments,   as    an    integer,   e.g.,
                        logor[1;3;9]=11.


logxor[x1;x2;...;xn]    lambda no-spread, value is the logical exclusive
                        or  of  its  arguments,  as  an  integer,  e.g.,
                        logxor[11;5] = 14,
                        logxor[11;5;9] = logxor[14;9] = 7.


lsh[n;m]                (arithmetic) left shift, value is  n*2^m,i.e., n
                        is shifted left m places.  n can be  positive or
                        negative.   If  m  is  negative,  n  is  shifted
                        right -m places.


rsh[n;m]                (arithmetic) right shift, value is n*2^-m, i.e.,
                        n is shifted right m places.  n can  be positive
                        or  negative.  If  m is  negative, n  is left -m
                        places.


llsh[n;m]               logical   left  shift.    On  PDP-10,   llsh  is
                        equivalent to lsh.


lrsh[n;m]               logical right shift.


The difference between a logical and arithmetic right shift lies  in the



------------------------------------------------------------------------
6
    Since FIX is also a lispx command (Section 22), typing  FIX directly
    to lispx will not cause the function fix to be called.




                                  13.4



treatment of the  sign bit for  negative numbers.  For  arithmetic right
shifting  of negative  numbers, the  sign bit  is propagated,  i.e., the
value  is  a  negative  number.  For  logical  right  shift,  zeroes are
propagated.  Note that shifting (arithmetic) a negative number  "all the
way" to the right yields -1, not 0.


gcd[x;y]                value is the greatest common divisor of x and y,
                        e.g., gcd[72;64]=8.


13.2 Floating Point Arithmetic

All of  the functions  described below work  on floating  point numbers.
Unless specified otherwise, if given an integer, they first  convert the
number      to       a      floating      point       number,      e.g.,
fplus[1;2.3] = fplus[1.0;2.3] = 3.3;  if given  a  non-numeric argument,
they generate an error, NON-NUMERIC ARG.

The largest floating point number (in INTERLISP-10) is 1.7014118E38, the
smallest  positive (non-zero)  floating point  number  is 1.4693679E-39.
The procedure on  overflow is the same  as for integer  arithmetic.  For
underflow, i.e., trying to create a number of too small a magnitude, the
value will be 0.


fplus[x1;x2;...xn]      x1 + x2 + ... + xn


fminus[x]               - x


fdifference[x;y]        x - y


ftimes[x1;x2;...;xn]    x1 * x2 * ... * xn


fquotient[x;y]          x/y


fremainder[x;y]         the  remainder when  x  is divided  by  y, e.g.,
                        fremainder[1.0;3.0]= 3.72529E-9.


minusp[x]               T, if x  is negative; NIL otherwise.   Works for
                        both integers and floating point numbers.


eqp[x;y]                T, if  x and  y are eq,  or equal  numbers.  See
                        discussion page 13.3.


fgtp[x;y]               T, if x > y, NIL otherwise.


floatp[x]               is  x  if  x is  a  floating  point  number; NIL
                        otherwise.  Does not give an error if x is not a
                        number.



                                  13.5



Note that  if numberp[x] is  true, then either  fixp[x] or  floatp[x] is
true.


float[x]                Converts  x to  a floating  point  number, e.g.,
                        float[0] = 0.0.


13.3 Mixed Arithmetic

The functions in this section are "contagious floating point arithmetic"
functions, i.e.,  if any  of the arguments  are floating  point numbers,
they act exactly like floating point functions, and float all arguments,
and return a floating point number as their value.  Otherwise,  they act
like  the  integer functions.   If  given a  non-numeric  argument, they
generate an error, NON-NUMERIC ARG.


plus[x1;x2;...;xn]      x1 + x2 + ... + xn


minus[x]                - x


difference[x;y]         x - y


times[x1;x2;...;xn]     x1 * x2 * ... * xn


quotient[x;y]           if  x  and   y  are  both  integers,   value  is
                        iquotient[x;y], otherwise fquotient[x;y].


remainder[x;y]          if  x  and   y  are  both  integers,   value  is
                        iremainder[x;y], otherwise fremainder[x;y].


greaterp[x;y]           T, if x > y, NIL otherwise.


lessp[x;y]              T if x < y, NIL otherwise.


abs[x]                  x if x > 0, otherwise -x.  abs uses greaterp and
                        minus, (not igreaterp and iminus).


                        7
13.4   Special Functions



------------------------------------------------------------------------
7
    In INTERLISP-10, these functions  were implemented by J.  W. Goodwin
    by "borrowing" the corresponding routines from the  FORTRAN library,
    and hand coding them in INTERLISP-10 via ASSEMBLE.




                                  13.6



They utilize a power series expansion and their values are  (supposed to
be) 27 bits accurate, e.g., sin[30]=.5 exactly.


expt[m;n]               value is  m^n.  If m  is an integer  and n  is a
                        positive  integer,  value  is  an  integer, e.g,
                        expt[3;4]=81, otherwise the value is  a floating
                        point   number.   If   m  is   negative   and  n
                        fractional, an error is generated.


sqrt[n]                 value is a square root of n as a  floating point
                        number.   n  may  be  fixed  or  floating point.
                        Generates an error if n is negative.  sqrt[n] is
                        about twice as fast as expt[n;.5]


log[x]                  value is  natural logarithm of  x as  a floating
                        point  number.   x can  be  integer  or floating
                        point.


antilog[x]              value is  floating point number  whose logarithm
                        is x.  x can be integer or floating point, e.g.,
                        antilog[1] = e = 2.71828...


sin[x;radiansflg]       x in degrees unless radiansflg=T.  Value is sine
                        of x as a floating point number.


cos[x;radiansflg]       Similar to sin.


tan[x;radiansflg]       Similar to sin.


arcsin[x;radiansflg]    x is a number between  -1 and 1 (or an  error is
                        generated).  The value  of arcsin is  a floating
                        point   number,   and  is   in   degrees  unless
                        radiansflg=T.      In     other     words,    if
                        arcsin[x;radiansflg]=z then sin[z;radiansflg]=x.
                        The range of the  value of arcsin is -90  to +90
                        for degrees, -A/2 to A/2 for radians.


arccos[x;radiansflg]    Similar to arcsin.  Range is 0 to 180, 0 to A.


arctan[x;radiansflg]    Similar to arcsin.  Range is 0 to 180, 0 to A.


rand[lower;upper]       Value  is a  pseudo-random number  between lower
                        and upper inclusive,  i.e., rand can be  used to
                        generate a sequence  of random numbers.  If both
                        limits  are integers,  the value  of rand  is an
                        integer,  otherwise  it  is  a   floating  point
                        number.     The    algorithm    is    completely




                                  13.7



                        deterministic,  i.e.,  given  the  same  initial
                        state,  rand  produces  the  same   sequence  of
                        values.    The   internal  state   of   rand  is
                        initialized using the function randset described
                        below,  and  is  stored  on  the  free  variable
                        randstate.


randset[x]              Value is  internal state  of rand  after randset
                        has finished operating, as a dotted pair  of two
                        integers.  If x=NIL, value is current state.  If
                        x=T, randstate is initialized using  the clocks.
                        Otherwise,  x  is  interpreted  as   a  previous
                        internal state, i.e., a value of randset, and is
                        used to reset randstate.  For example,
                        1.   (SETQ OLDSTATE (RANDSET))
                        2.   Use rand to generate some random numbers.
                        3.   (RANDSET OLDSTATE)
                        4.   rand will generate same sequence as in 2.


13.5 Reusing Boxed Numbers in INTERLISP-10 - SETN

rplaca  and rplacd  provide a  way of  cannibalizing list  structure for
reuse  in  order  to  avoid making  new  structure  and  causing garbage
            8
collections.    This  section   describes  an   analogous   function  in
INTERLISP-10 for large integers and floating point numbers,  setn.  setn
is used like setq, i.e., its first argument is considered as quoted, its
second is evaluated.  If the current value of the variable being  set is
a large  integer or floating  point number, the  new value  is deposited
                                                               9
into that word in number storage, i.e., no new storage is used.   If the
current value is not a large integer or floating point number,  e.g., it
can be NIL, setn operates exactly like setq, i.e., the large  integer or
floating  point  number  is  boxed,  and  the  variable  is  set.   This
eliminates initialization of the variable.

setn will work interpretively, i.e., reuse a word in number storage, but
will not yield any savings  of storage because the boxing of  the second
argument will still take  place, when it is evaluated.   The elimination
of a box is achieved only when the call to setn is compiled,  since setn
compiles open,  and does not  perform the  box if the  old value  of the
variable can be reused.






------------------------------------------------------------------------
8
    This  technique is  frowned upon  except in  well-defined, localized
    situations where efficiency is paramount.

9
    The second argument to setn must always be a number or a NON-NUMERIC
    ARG error is generated.




                                  13.8



Caveats concerning use of SETN

There are three situations to watch out for when using setn.   The first
occurs when the same variable  is being used for floating  point numbers
and large integers.  If the current value of the variable is  a floating
point number, and it  is reset to a  large integer, via setn,  the large
integer  is  simply  deposited  into a  word  in  floating  point number
storage,  and hence  will  be interpreted  as a  floating  point number.
Thus,

         _(SETQ FOO 2.3)
         2.3
         _(SETN FOO 10000)
         2.189529E-43

Similarly, if the current value is a large integer, and the new value is
a floating point number, equally strange results occur.

The second situation occurs when  a setn variable is reset from  a large
integer to a small integer.   In this case, the small integer  is simply
deposited into large integer storage.  It will then print correctly, and
function arithmetically correctly,  but it is  not a small  integer, and
hence will not be eq to another integer of the same value, e.g.,

         _(SETQ FOO 10000)
         10000
         _(SETN FOO 1)
         1
         _(IPLUS FOO 5)
         6
         _(EQ FOO 1)
         NIL
         _(SMALLP FOO)
         NIL

In particular, note that zerop  will return NIL even if the  variable is
equal to 0.  Thus a program which begins with FOO set to a large integer
and  counts  it   down  by  (SETN FOO (SUB1 FOO)) must   terminate  with
(EQP FOO 0), not (ZEROP FOO).

Finally, the third  situation to watch out  for occurs when you  want to
save the current value of  a setn variable for later use.   For example,
if FOO is  being used by  setn, and the user  wants to save  its current
value on FIE,  (SETQ FOO FIE) is not sufficent,  since the next  setn on
FOO will also change FIE, because its changes the word in number storage
pointed to  by FOO, and  hence pointed  to by FIE.   The number  must be
copied, e.g., (SETQ FIE (IPLUS FOO)),  which sets FIE  to a new  word in
number storage.


setn[var;x]             nlambda function like setq.  var is quoted, x is
                        evaluated, and its value must be a  number.  var
                        will  be set  to  this number.   If  the current
                        value  of var  is  a large  integer  or floating
                        point  number, that  word in  number  storage is
                        cannibalized.  The  value of  setn is  the (new)
                        value of var.





                                  13.9



13.6 Box and Unbox in INTERLISP-10

Some applications may require that a user program explicitly perform the
boxing and unboxing operations that are usually implicit (and invisible)
to most programs.  The  functions that perform these operations  are loc
and vag respectively.  For example,  if a user program executes  a TENEX
JSYS using the ASSEMBLE directive, the value of the  ASSEMBLE expression
will   have   to   be   boxed   to   be   used   arithmetically,   e.g.,
(IPLUS X (LOC (ASSEMBLE --))).  It must be emphasized that


Arbitrary unboxed numbers should not be passed around as ordinary values
because they can cause trouble for the garbage collector.


For  example,  suppose the  value  of  x were  150000,  and  you created
(VAG X), and  this just happened  to be an  address on the  free storage
list.   The  next  garbage collection  could  be  disastrous.   For this
reason, the  function vag  must be  used with  extreme caution  when its
argument's range is not known.

loc  is  the inverse  of  vag.  It  takes  an address,  i.e.,  a  36 bit
quantity, and treats it as a  number and boxes it.  For example,  loc of
an atom, e.g., (LOC (QUOTE FOO)), treats the atom as a 36  bit quantity,
and makes  a number  out of  it.  If the  address of  the atom  FOO were
125000, (LOC (QUOTE FOO))  would be 125000,  i.e., the location  of FOO.
It is for  this reason that  the box operation  is called loc,  which is
                   10
short for location.

Note that FOO  does not print as  #364110 (125000 in octal)  because the
print routine recognizes that it is an atom, and therefore prints  it in
a special way, i.e., by printing the individual characters that comprise
it.  Thus (VAG 125000) would print as FOO, and would in fact be FOO.


loc[x]                  Makes  a  number  out of  x,  i.e.,  returns the
                        location of x.


vag[x]                  The inverse  of loc.   x must  be a  number; the
                        value of vag is the unbox of x.


The   compiler   eliminates   extra   vag's   and   loc's   for  example
(IPLUS X (LOC (ASSEMBLE --))) will  not box the  value of  the ASSEMBLE,
and then unbox it for the addition.








------------------------------------------------------------------------
10
    vag is an abbreviation of value get.




                                 13.10