Bad Math Module Notation re: atan2

Lou Pecora pecora at anvil.nrl.navy.mil
Thu Jun 1 14:59:57 EDT 2000


Maybe you've all kicked this around before, but I've just picked up
Python in the last month or so.  The notation for atan2(x,y) is 

 atan2(x,y)= arctangent( x/y)

Given the usual association of x with the abscissa and y with the
ordinate in mathematics, science and engineering it is easy to mistake
atan2(x,y) as arctangent (y/x) (x and y reversed!).  Or in another
view, according to the majority of mathematically trained people
atan2(x,y) as defined appears to deliver the arccotangent.  

Am I mising something?



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