pow() function alternative

[johanbilen]

Hi, i have had trouble with the pow() function not having the precision I need (floats).
I wrote a small library to replace the pow() but wonder about the for-loop, will that slow things down?

/Johan

<CODE>
#ifndef NucleusPow_h
#define NucleusPow_h
#include "Arduino.h"
class NucleusPow{
public:
NucleusPow();
float pow(float base, int exponent);
private:
float _base;
};
#endif
</CODE>

<CODE>
#include "NucleusPow.h"
NucleusPow::NucleusPow(){}
float NucleusPowow(float base, int exponent){
_base=base;
for(int _loop=1;_loop<exponent;_loop++){
_base*=base;
}
return _base;
}
</CODE>

[Frank B]

Hm, what exactly is wrong with pow() ?

note, pow() is the double-precision version. you need to include <math.h>
powf() is the float version.

pow(PI, PI) prints as 36.462159607207901 which is pretty exact.

[jonr]

> will that slow things down

If you are concerned about speed, then I encourage you to learn how to measure speed. Search this forum for "ARM_DWT_CYCCNT".

[defragster]

Hm, what exactly is wrong with pow() ?

note, pow() is the double-precision version. you need to include <math.h>
powf() is the float version.

pow(PI, PI) prints as 36.462159607207901 which is pretty exact.

Indeed it is - Windows gives this for pi^pi :: 36.462159607207911770990826022692

[Frank B]

Frank B, I will have a look at powf(). I did pow(1.5,3) and got something like 3.08 instead of 3.375 when printing it through Serial.print().

/Johan

Print rounds if you don't display more digits.

try Serial.print( pow(a,b), 20)
(that's double)
powf() is not good as pow() but you wanted float ..

[johanbilen]

Frank B, yes just discovered that Serial.print() round things off. So I'll guess I can go back to using pow() then :-)
Thanks
Johan

[MichaelMeissner]

You didn't mention what microprocessor you are using. And for floats, use powf, not pow, because powf takes float arguments, does most of the calculations in float and returns float arguments. While pow takes double arguments, does the calculates in double, and returns double.

• On the Teensy LC, 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2, both float and double are emulated in software;
• On the Teensy 3.5, and 3.6, float is done in hardware, and double is emulated in software; (and)
• On the Teensy 4.0, and 4.1, both float and double are done in hardware.

Even if you use the Teensy 4.0/4.1, if you only need float results, you should use powf, because pow likely has more passes to provide the higher precision in double.

[PieterP]

Don't bother with the powf and pow C functions, use the C++ function std::pow from the <cmath> header, it'll always select the right version: double if the arguments are doubles, float if the arguments are floats.

Pieter