Commit 0ad20f18 authored by Andrew M. Kuchling's avatar Andrew M. Kuchling

Update Decimal section to match the current module

parent 65a33321
......@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ Sometimes you can see this inaccuracy when the number is printed:
\end{verbatim}
The inaccuracy isn't always visible when you print the number because
the FP-to-decimal-string conversion is provided by the C library, and
the FP-to-decimal-string conversion is provided by the C library and
most C libraries try to produce sensible output, but the inaccuracy is
still there and subsequent operations can magnify the error.
......@@ -319,8 +319,8 @@ pass the string to the \class{Decimal} constructor:
>>> f = 1.1
>>> decimal.Decimal(str(f))
Decimal("1.1")
>>> decimal.Decimal(repr(f))
Decimal("1.1000000000000001")
>>> decimal.Decimal('%.12f' % f)
Decimal("1.100000000000")
\end{verbatim}
Once you have \class{Decimal} instances, you can perform the usual
......@@ -337,11 +337,13 @@ Decimal("33.99")
>>> a*b
Decimal("61.7956")
>>> a/b
Decimal("20.6473988")
Decimal("20.64739884393063583815028902")
>>> a ** 2
Decimal("1275.9184")
>>> a ** b
Decimal("NaN")
>>> a**b
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
decimal.InvalidOperation: x ** (non-integer)
\end{verbatim}
You can combine \class{Decimal} instances with integers, but not with
......@@ -358,8 +360,10 @@ TypeError: You can interact Decimal only with int, long or Decimal data types.
\end{verbatim}
\class{Decimal} numbers can be used with the \module{math} and
\module{cmath} modules, though you'll get back a regular
floating-point number and not a \class{Decimal}. Instances also have a \method{sqrt()} method:
\module{cmath} modules, but note that they'll be immediately converted to
floating-point numbers before the operation is performed, resulting in
a possible loss of precision and accuracy. You'll also get back a
regular floating-point number and not a \class{Decimal}.
\begin{verbatim}
>>> import math, cmath
......@@ -368,6 +372,13 @@ floating-point number and not a \class{Decimal}. Instances also have a \method{
351364.18288201344
>>> cmath.sqrt(-d)
351364.18288201344j
\end{verbatim}
Instances also have a \method{sqrt()} method that returns a
\class{Decimal}, but if you need other things such as trigonometric
functions you'll have to implement them.
\begin{verbatim}
>>> d.sqrt()
Decimal("351364.1828820134592177245001")
\end{verbatim}
......@@ -383,7 +394,7 @@ decimal operations:
\item \member{rounding} specifies the rounding mode. The \module{decimal}
module has constants for the various possibilities:
\constant{ROUND_DOWN}, \constant{ROUND_CEILING}, \constant{ROUND_HALF_EVEN}, and various others.
\item \member{trap_enablers} is a dictionary specifying what happens on
\item \member{traps} is a dictionary specifying what happens on
encountering certain error conditions: either an exception is raised or
a value is returned. Some examples of error conditions are
division by zero, loss of precision, and overflow.
......@@ -403,25 +414,27 @@ Decimal("0.1428571428571428571428571429")
Decimal("0.142857143")
\end{verbatim}
The default action for error conditions is to return a special value
such as infinity or not-a-number, but you can request that exceptions
be raised:
The default action for error conditions is selectable; the module can
either return a special value such as infinity or not-a-number, or
exceptions can be raised:
\begin{verbatim}
>>> decimal.Decimal(1) / decimal.Decimal(0)
Decimal("Infinity")
>>> decimal.getcontext().trap_enablers[decimal.DivisionByZero] = True
>>> decimal.Decimal(1) / decimal.Decimal(0)
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
decimal.DivisionByZero: x / 0
>>> decimal.getcontext().traps[decimal.DivisionByZero] = False
>>> decimal.Decimal(1) / decimal.Decimal(0)
Decimal("Infinity")
>>>
\end{verbatim}
The \class{Context} instance also has various methods for formatting
numbers such as \method{to_eng_string()} and \method{to_sci_string()}.
For more information, see the documentation for the \module{decimal}
module, which includes a quick-start tutorial and a reference.
\begin{seealso}
\seepep{327}{Decimal Data Type}{Written by Facundo Batista and implemented
by Facundo Batista, Eric Price, Raymond Hettinger, Aahz, and Tim Peters.}
......
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