(-) precedence

[Albert Chan]

(12-22-2022 03:16 PM)Sukiari Wrote:  Negative two is negative two, you don’t expand that to negative one times two.
They might work out to be the same but -2 is not -1*2.

BTW, treating -x ≡ (-1)*x placed unary minus operator precedence below POW, but above MUL/DIV/MOD.

This might clear the confusion. (unary minus is an operator, not part of number)

Order of Operations: Common Misunderstandings

Where do negatives fit in? Wrote:If you approach the idea starting with numerical expressions like -3^2, you are thinking of -3 as a number and assuming that the expression says to square it. If you approach it first using variables, having first discovered that "-" in a negative number is actually an operator, then it is easier to see why -x^2 should be taken as the negative of the square. So I'll start with the latter, and then it becomes natural to treat numbers the same way we treat variables.

The point here is that in arithmetic, we see the negative sign as part of the number (“the number I’m attached to is negative”); in algebra, we see it primarily as an operator (“negate the thing that follows”). And the convention arises in the latter context. It isn’t primarily meant for use with numbers, but with variables.

We wanted precedence order match convention, so that we can enter math expressions, WYSIWYG.
Otherwise, why bother with precedence rules, and the codes to make it happen?