5. Math Routines

The following table lists the mathematical routines available in GENESIS. These routines include basic math, trigonometric, and random number routines. (Remember that GENESIS also has standard arithmetic operators such as + for addition, - for subtraction, etc.)

The GENESIS syntax for functions like exp, sin, etc. is a little unusual, as they take arguments that are separated by spaces, as with other GENESIS routines (commands) that have arguments. They also require curly brackets (braces) to cause evaluation of the function and of strings that represent numerical quantities. Rather than the form exp(x), you would use {exp {x}}. See the section on ``Using Variables'' in Creating Variables for a description of the use of braces with variable names.

Routine	Description
abs	Returns absolute value of number.
acos	Returns angle (in radians) corresponding to given cosine.
asin	Returns angle (in radians) corresponding to given sine.
atan	Returns angle (in radians) corresponding to given tangent.
cos	Returns cosine for given angle (specified in radians).
exp	Returns ``e'' raised to specified power.
floatformat	Sets format for display of variables of type float.
gaussian	Returns value from Gaussian (Normal) distribution.
log	Returns logarithm (base ``e'') of number.
max	Returns maximum value of two numbers.
min	Returns minumum value of two numbers.
pow	Returns a number raised to a specified power.
rand	Returns a random number falling in a specified range.
randseed	Initializes random-number generator with new random seed.
round	Rounds decimal number to nearest integer value.
setrand	Select Numerical Recipes or SPRNG random number generator
sin	Returns sine for given angle (specified in radians).
sqrt	Returns square root of positive number.
tan	Returns tangent for given angle (specified in radians).
trunc	Returns integer part of number.