What's the difference between:
Math.pow ( x,y ); // x^y
To:
x^y; // x^y
?
Will I prefer to use x^y with double type numbers? Or shell I have to use always with Math.pow() method?
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4 Answers
^ is the bitwise exclusive OR (XOR) operator in Java (and many other languages). It is not used for exponentiation. For that, you must use Math.pow.
answered Apr 23, 2011 at 10:26
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So for example if I want to calc radius from (x,y), I need to: Math.sqrt(Math.pow(x,2)+Math.pow(y,2)) ; ??? thnx– Master CCommented Apr 23, 2011 at 10:28
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@Master C: If you want to raise a number to a particular power, you want to use
Math.pow. Commented Apr 23, 2011 at 10:29 -
1@Master C: Besides that it's just the distance from the origin in 2d (there's no concept of a radius of a point), I think in this special case
Math.sqrt(x*x+y*y)is more readable.– AxelCommented Apr 23, 2011 at 15:50
Additionally for what was said, if you want integer powers of two, then 1 << x (or 1L << x) is a faster way to calculate 2x than Math.pow(2,x) or a multiplication loop, and is guaranteed to give you an int (or long) result.
It only uses the lowest 5 (or 6) bits of x (i.e. x & 31 (or x & 63)), though, shifting between 0 and 31 (or 63) bits.
answered Apr 23, 2011 at 20:51
In Java x ^ y is an XOR operation.
answered Apr 23, 2011 at 10:26
x^y is not "x to the power of y". It's "x XOR y".
answered Apr 23, 2011 at 10:26
