std.complex MAY I REMIND YOU?

[Don Clugston]

Bill Baxter wrote:
> S wrote:
>> http://www.digitalmars.com/d/2.0/cppcomplex.html
>>
>> Why are we removing it from the language when it was just FINALLY 
>> added to C?!?!?!
> 
> I'm not sure if it was conclusively decided to remove it or not.  But 
> anyway, the code in std.complex is capable of representing complex 
> numbers in polar format which is a trick that the built-in complex 
> numbers can't do.  So that somewhat justifies its existence regardless 
> of whether the built-in types are removed.
> 
> --bb

Agreed, although I wonder if supporting polar format is going to create 
headaches later.
The set of numbers representable in x+iy format with IEEE numbers is not exactly 
the same as for polar format. Algorithms for precise computations in polar 
format are quite hard to find (although in a great many cases they are simpler).

So I have a vague fear that this might create a lot of work in the future - I 
hope I'm wrong. We might just need to dampen expectations about which operations 
will be supported.