No (Or Limited) Arbitrary Precision Integers / Exact Mode?

[Joe Horn]

(12-17-2013 05:48 PM)John R. Graham Wrote:  Is there a variable type that is manipulatable from PPL that will represent an exact arbitrary precision integer? The only reference I see to integers in the documentation are the binary numbers, which seem to be strictly limited in precision (just like they are on the HP50).

Not in Home, which is like approximate mode on the 50g. Long integers are only available in CAS (which is like exact mode on the 50g), from which they can be stored in any CAS variable. So if you want to use them in a program, it must be a CAS program, not a "normal" program. My PDQ program (posted in the Prime Software section, see link below) is an example of this. It allows inputs of any length, and can generate "infinite precision" results such as fractions whose numerator and denominator are integers with more than 12 digits each.

PDQ with examples is here: http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-61.html

BUT WAIT! I just set a CAS variable equal to a large integer, then went back into Home, and tried ifactor (a CAS function) on it while in Home. It got the same full-accuracy result as ifactor gets in CAS! So variables containing long integers CAN be used with full accuracy in Home... but only if handled by CAS functions. Perhaps normal programs can use long integers too, if first saved in CAS variables? Maybe! This should be explored further.