[DarcDroid]

Try to enter this calculation, can be in Standard or Scientific
0 - 4.2 + 3.2 + 1

The result is too DAMN high, oh wait it's actually too damn low

[Chrisy]

http://forums.crackberry.com/playboo...ght=Calculator

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...k-what-691535/

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...entage-657422/

They provide the reason.

[chaddeus]

Cool!! How did you come across this problem?

- Charles

[DarcDroid]

http://forums.crackberry.com/playboo...ght=Calculator

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...k-what-691535/

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...entage-657422/

They provide the reason.

This problem is way funnier. Try it

Cool!! How did you come across this problem?

- Charles

Accidentally found it, the number is different though (it's not like i need calculator to count that)
I just post the shorter version

[Chrisy]

Read the first three pages of the first thread.

[rickgainsmith]

I hate the calculator! It can't be trusted for what 'normal people' use calculators for.

RIM employee has told me it's using scientific rules even in standard mode, they knew this when 2.0 was released but didn't have time to change it.

[DarcDroid]

Read the first three pages of the first thread.

For the percentage problem, the Playbook is correct. It's just that most people already used to normal calculator.

[Mr_Bunny]

I hate the native calculator since I found AIR Calc in app world the native one has gone in my junk folder, its free and straight forward and simple.

[anthogag]

It isn't wrong. It's a very small number that's basically zero

Math calculations, the way it's implemented at the bit level, sometimes produces results like this, right

Try 4.2 - 3.2 - 1 and you'll get the same, but on the other side of 0

Other math programs or apps would display it as 0...

[ast_ph]

Even without the 0 -, it is still wrong!! Sigh!!

[borceg]

It's scientifically correct The problem is how it's interpreting the zero. Seems that these numbers (4.2 and 4.3) trigger this scientific behaviour

[Chaddface]

How can 4.5-3.5-1=0 but 4.2-3.2-1=3.45..........
What does the E77 mean?

[DarcDroid]

It isn't wrong. It's a very small number that's basically zero

Math calculations, the way it's implemented at the bit level, sometimes produces results like this, right

Try 4.2 - 3.2 - 1 and you'll get the same, but on the other side of 0

Other math programs or apps would display it as 0...

Make sense... I think something is wrong with the number 4.2

How can 4.5-3.5-1=0 but 4.2-3.2-1=3.45..........
What does the E77 mean?

Yeah, other number give correct results. E77 means Ten to the power of seventy-seven
For example, we can write 1,000 as 10^3 or 10E3

[reschp]

It adds like I spell - incorectly.....

[EdY]

So can somebody give the answers please, I don't have a playbook near me right now.

So "4.5 - 3.5 - 1" = 0, and when you do "4.2 - 3.2 - 1" you get something other than 0?

Please post the exact numbers, operators and answers of the calculations as they appear. I'd like to give this a shot to crack the problem. Thanks.



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[ctfish]

The behaviour is even stranger.
If you take 4.2 - 3.2 = 1
Then minus one from the answer

Ans - 1 =-3.4544674220377 E-77

That is strange behaviour.

[ctfish]

It seems ANY non whole number going to zero in stages doesn't work.

For example 4.2 - 4.2 = 0

But

4.0000001 - 3 = 1.0000001

Ans - 1 = 0.0000001

Ans - 0.0000001 = -8.3252097486722 E-78

Seems to be an issue approaching zero.

[EdY]

Ok, I see what is going on here. The E-77 is x10 to exponent -77 which is basically like...

0.000000000...(77 zeros)..some #

So it is almost 0 but not quite.

When you are entering 4.2 and minus 3.2 you get 1. But maybe you are getting 1.0000000000xxx internally in the calculator, but it is not displaying that. And when you minus 1 you get the answer 0.000000000xxx...

Or x.xx E-77 or whatever.

Try to type 1 and then subtract 1. Do you get 0?

Try 4.20000 - 3.20000 and see what happens. Do you get 1 and then when subtract 1 do you get 0? Or that strange very small but non- zero number?

This has to do with precision of the values entered and what Playbook calc is doing to the previous registers/variables. I get this sometimes with Javascript, turns out there is either a buffer overflow so picking up bits from some other variable next to it in memory, or it is not zeroing out the previous numbers.



Sent from my BlackBerry 9810 using Crackberry Tapatalk Forum app

[DarcDroid]

Is 4.2 a value of some physics or math constant?
Maybe if we can figure that out, it can lead to the answer

Try to type 1 and then subtract 1. Do you get 0?

Try 4.20000 - 3.20000 and see what happens. Do you get 1 and then when subtract 1 do you get 0? Or that strange very small but non- zero number?

Sent from my BlackBerry 9810 using Crackberry Tapatalk Forum app

1 - 1 is 0
4.2000000 - 3.2000000 is 1
and if continued: ANS - 1 = still omg

[Saul89]

So it seems to be only doing it with 4.2. I tried with 4.5, 4.4, 4.1, and 4.25(and the corresponding 3 value) and got 0 for all those.

And just did it with 4.1-3-1-0.1 and got -1.4...E-77


strange

[BadGoliath42]

Ok, I see what is going on here. The E-77 is x10 to exponent -77 which is basically like...

0.000000000...(77 zeros)..some #

So it is almost 0 but not quite.

When you are entering 4.2 and minus 3.2 you get 1. But maybe you are getting 1.0000000000xxx internally in the calculator, but it is not displaying that. And when you minus 1 you get the answer 0.000000000xxx...

Or x.xx E-77 or whatever.

Try to type 1 and then subtract 1. Do you get 0?

Try 4.20000 - 3.20000 and see what happens. Do you get 1 and then when subtract 1 do you get 0? Or that strange very small but non- zero number?

This has to do with precision of the values entered and what Playbook calc is doing to the previous registers/variables. I get this sometimes with Javascript, turns out there is either a buffer overflow so picking up bits from some other variable next to it in memory, or it is not zeroing out the previous numbers.

That is correct. The number is very close to zero, but not quite zero. This is due to a floating number calculation and the way it is stored in the variable on the PlayBook. Most likely a sloppy programming error coming from the development kit, not RIM. They could have corrected it though.

It's nothing related to a magic number or some huge mistake. The calculator is perfectly reliable for everyday use, and even for advanced calculations it gives a correct answer. An error of 1E-78 is nothing to worry about.

[mathprof08]

How can 4.5-3.5-1=0 but 4.2-3.2-1=3.45..........
What does the E77 mean?

It's E-77, which is one divided by ten to the 77th power, or 1 divided by a 1 followed by 77 zeroes. That would be represented by a 0. followed by 76 zeroes, then a 1 in the 77th spot after the decimal point:

0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000001

It's a small enough number to be considered zero, but it's still infinitely far from zero, bizarrely enough.

(Sorry for the space in the number. It shouldn't be there, and I don't know why it's there or how to get rid of it).

[mathprof08]

The behaviour is even stranger.
If you take 4.2 - 3.2 = 1
Then minus one from the answer

Ans - 1 =-3.4544674220377 E-77

That is strange behaviour.

"Minus" is not a verb. The correct term is 'subtract.' Sorry, but this is one of my pet peeves, as is "timesing" two numbers. When my students talk like this, I act as if I don't know what they mean until they get it right.

[DarcDroid]

It's E-77, which is one divided by ten to the 77th power, or 1 divided by a 1 followed by 77 zeroes. That would be represented by a 0. followed by 76 zeroes, then a 1 in the 77th spot after the decimal point:

0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000001

It's a small enough number to be considered zero, but it's still infinitely far from zero, bizarrely enough.

(Sorry for the space in the number. It shouldn't be there, and I don't know why it's there or how to get rid of it).

I still wonder why it only happens on specific numbers like 4.2 but not 4.5

[vlade31]

Try to enter this calculation, can be in Standard or Scientific
0 - 4.2 + 3.2 + 1

The result is too DAMN high, oh wait it's actually too damn low

well, i get zero on my iphone 4 but that's just an itoy as most people like to refer to it here...

PB is "professional grade" indeed!