C:/Musimathics_local/Musimat/MusimatTutorial/B0400.cpp File Reference

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 MusimatTutorialSection (B0400)


Function Documentation

MusimatTutorialSection ( B0400   ) 

Definition at line 2 of file B0400.cpp.

00002                               {
00003 Print("*** B.4 Operator Associativity and Precedence in Musimat ***");
00004 /*****************************************************************************
00005 
00006 B.4 Operator Associativity and Precedence in Musimat
00007 
00008 To keep it simple, the Musimat expressions in this book are formatted to obey simple left-to-right 
00009 evaluation. In fact, the rules are a little more complex because Musimat is basically C++ in 
00010 sheep’s clothing.
00011 
00012 Table B.2 
00013 Operator Precedence and Associativity  
00014 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
00015 Operator                        Associativity           Description                                                             Examples
00016 ( )                                     left to right       grouping                                a * (x+y) == ax + ay
00017 –                                       right to left           negation                                                                –3 == –1 * 3
00018 *    /                          left to right           multiplication and division                             a * b, a / b
00019 %                                       left to right           remainder after integer division                10 % 3 == 1, 12 % 3 == 0
00020 +    –                          left to right           addition and subtraction                                a + b, a – b
00021 <   <=   >   >=         left to right           less-than, less-than-or-equal,                  a < b, a <= b
00022                                                                                 greater-than, greater-than-or-equal             a > b, a >= b
00023 ==    !=                        left to right           equal, not equal                                                a == b, a != b
00024 And                                     left to right           logical AND                                                             False And False == False
00025                                                                                                                                                                 False And True == False
00026                                                                                                                                                                 True And False == False
00027                                                                                                                                                                 True And True == True
00028 Or                                      left to right           logical OR                                                              False Or False == False
00029                                                                                                                                                                 False Or True == True
00030                                                                                                                                                                 True Or False == True
00031                                                                                                                                                                 True Or True == True
00032 =                                       right to left       assignment                                                          a = b, a = b + c
00033 
00034 
00035 Associativity of operators is generally left to right, except for assignment and negation. For 
00036 example the expression a = c = d assigns the value d to c, then assigns c to a, thereby making 
00037 all three have equal value.
00038 
00039 Table B.2 shows Musimat’s simplified operator precedence and associativity in order from 
00040 highest to lowest. This precedence list is a shortened version derived from C and C++. Since you 
00041 can’t effectively read or write computer programs unless you have memorized these rules of oper-
00042 ator precedence and associativity, experts recommend that you study these tables while you brush 
00043 your teeth every night (Press et al. 1988, 23).
00044 
00045 Warning: some expressions that might seem to have self-evident meaning can’t be expressed 
00046 as such in C/C++ and so don’t work in Musimat either. Take the expression c > b > a, for exam-
00047 ple. You’d hope it would test whether b lies between a and c. Alas. Consider this example:
00048 
00049 If (3 > 2 > 1) Print("True") Else Print("False")
00050 
00051 It first evaluates (3 > 2), which it discovers is True, and replaces this expression with the integer 
00052 1 (which stands for True in C++). It then evaluates the expression ( 1 > 1 ) which is False. Prob-
00053 ably not what we wanted. This example can be rewritten as follows:
00054 *****************************************************************************/
00055 
00056 If (3 > 2 And 2 > 1) 
00057         Print("True"); 
00058 Else 
00059         Print("False");
00060 
00061 /*****************************************************************************
00062 which will print True.
00063 
00064 *****************************************************************************/
00065 }}


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