[Python-Dev] math.sqrt(-1) - NaN, ValueError or whatever you want?
Jack Jansen
Jack.Jansen at cwi.nl
Thu Feb 5 15:44:07 EST 2004
The answers to my math questions never seem to stick, so I'm afraid I'm
gonna have to ask this question again (even though I think I did the
same a couple of years ago, but google doesn't find it).
It turns out that on MacOS math.sqrt(-1) returns "nan", as does
math.log(-1), and I didn't try any other ones.
This is true for all possible combinations of MacPython 2.3, 2.4a0 or
apple-Python 2.3, MacPython-OS9 or MacPython-OSX, and Mac OS 9 or Mac
OS X.
When I tried the same on a linux box (Python 2.4a0) it raised
ValueError: math domain error, which is what I would have expected.
Why this difference? Is it something I should fix? How? Or document it?
--
Jack Jansen, <Jack.Jansen at cwi.nl>, http://www.cwi.nl/~jack
If I can't dance I don't want to be part of your revolution -- Emma
Goldman
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