Notes on Syntax

1. You may use the following binary operators:

   + for addition
   - for subtraction
   * for multiplication
   / for division
   ^ for exponentiation

   A common mistake is to forget * when multiplication is intended.

2. The usual rules of precedence apply when binary operations are concatenated. For instance, exponentiation is performed first, followed by multiplication and division and finally addition and subtraction. If in doubt, you may use the following parenthetical delimiters to indicate the order in which operations should be performed: ( ), { } and [ ]. Extraneous delimiters are ignored. For instance, tan(((((x))))) will be interpreted the same as tan(x).

3. Case is insignificant; that is, TaN(X) is the same as tan(x).

4. Blanks are ignored; that is t A n (x ) is the same as tan(x).

5. The special mathematical constants, pi = 3.14... and e= 2.78... are known and may be referenced by PI and E (again, case is not important).

6. The following mathematical functions are supported. While it is not necessary to delimit the argument to such a function, it is highly recommended. This insures that you produce the function you expect. For instance, you should write tan(x^2) or tan(x)^2 rather than tan x^2. (For your information, tan x^2 produces tan(x)^2.)
   • Abs: Absolute value
   • Acos or Arccos: Inverse cosine
   • Asin or Arcsin: Inverse sine
   • Atan or Arctan: Inverse tangent
   • Ceil: returns the smallest integer larger than or equal to the argument
   • Cos: Cosine
   • Cot: Cotangent
   • Csc: Cosecant
   • Delta: Delta function
   • Floor: returns the greater integer smaller than or equal to the argument
   • Ln: Natural logarithm
   • Sec: Secant
   • Sgn: returns -1 if the argument is negative, 0 if 0 and 1 if positive
   • Sin: Sine
   • Sqrt: Square root (sqrt(x) is equivalent to x^(1/2))
   • Tan: Tangent

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