Re: Why is different ^ and .^?

[Ted Harding]

On 23-May-05 Javier Arantegui Jimenez wrote:
> Mike Miller said:
>> a^2 means a*a
>> a.^2 means "square every element of a"
>>
>> a^2  therefore requires that 'a' be a square matrix or scalar.
>> a.^2 does not require that 'a' have any particular dimensions
> 
> OK. I understand it. But, could Octave be smart enough to
> distinguish between those cases? I think that other programs,
> like Euler, don't need to do this distinction.

"Smart enough" is possible in cases where one interpretation
is impossible (e.g. A is not a square matrix, so "A*A" is not
possible). But if A is square, then how can octave be smart
enough to know whether you mean "A*A" or "The matrixx of
squared elements of A"? Clairvoyant is hyper-smart!

Best wishes,
Ted.


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Date: 23-May-05                                       Time: 23:29:25
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