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A simple program to solve quadratic equations with

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10 Nov 2010CPOL 17.1K   2   7
The correct way to solve quadratic equations is none of the above. For the correct algorithm as applied in the following function, seenumerical recipes in C and the Wolfram site at http://mathworld.wolfram.com/QuadraticEquation.html#include bool quadratic(double a, double b,...
The correct way to solve quadratic equations is none of the above. For the correct algorithm as applied in the following function, see
numerical recipes in C and the Wolfram site at http://mathworld.wolfram.com/QuadraticEquation.html

C++
#include <limits>
bool quadratic(double a, double b, double c, double& x1, double& x2, double y, double z)
{
   double delta=0.0e+00, q=0.0e+00, bsign, y1, y2;
   const double eps = std::numeric_limits()<double>.epsilon();
   // equation is: a*x^2 + b*x + c = 0; a cannot be zero.
   if ( fabs(a) <= eps ) { return false; }

   delta=b*b-4.0*a*c;
   if ( delta<0.0e+00 ) { return false; }
   if ( delta>=0.0e+00 && delta <= eps )
   { x1=(-1.0*b/(2.0*a)); x2=x1; return true; }

   bsign=1.0e+00;
   if ( fabs(b)>1.0e-16 )  { bsign=b/fabs(b); }
   else { if ( b<0.0e+00 ) { bsign=-1.0e+00; } }

   q=(-0.5)*(b+bsign*sqrt(delta));

   // the roots of the equation are:
   y1=q/a; y2=c/q;

   // find if any of the roots is in the given [y,z] interval
   if (( y<=y1 )&&( y1<=z ))
   {
      x1=y1; x2=y2;
   }
   else if (( y<=y2 )&&( y2<=z ))
   {
      x1=y2; x2=y1;
   }
   else
   {
      x1=y1; x2=y2;
   }

   return true;
}

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Software Developer (Senior)
Italy Italy
Senior Software Developer in C/C++ and Oracle.
Ex-physicist holding a Ph.D. on x-ray lasers.

Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralI edited my answser to address your objection. evviva :) Pin
Alain Rist16-Nov-10 7:17
Alain Rist16-Nov-10 7:17 
I edited my answser to address your objection. evviva Smile | :)
GeneralOh well, thanks Alain, I didn't know the standard evoluted t... Pin
federico.strati9-Nov-10 23:07
federico.strati9-Nov-10 23:07 
General#include &lt;limits&gt; const double eps = std::numeric_limi... Pin
Alain Rist9-Nov-10 22:34
Alain Rist9-Nov-10 22:34 
GeneralOh well, the machine epsilon is around 3x10-8 for single pre... Pin
federico.strati9-Nov-10 4:38
federico.strati9-Nov-10 4:38 
GeneralReason for my vote of 2 Aren't the tolerance values arbitrar... Pin
YvesDaoust8-Nov-10 23:30
YvesDaoust8-Nov-10 23:30 
GeneralThe inputs "y" and "z" serve the only purpose of finding a r... Pin
federico.strati8-Nov-10 22:23
federico.strati8-Nov-10 22:23 
GeneralCan you elaborate on the function of the 2 added inputs y an... Pin
bstrack8-Nov-10 21:27
bstrack8-Nov-10 21:27 

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