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Math-Polynomial-Multivariate-0.003
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/ Math::Polynomial::Multivariate

NAME

Math::Polynomial::Multivariate - Perl class for multivariate polynomials

VERSION

This documentation refers to version 0.003 of Math::Polynomial::Multivariate.

SYNOPSIS

  use Math::Polynomial::Multivariate;

  my $two = Math::Polynomial::Multivariate->const(2);
  my $x   = Math::Polynomial::Multivariate->var('x');
  my $xy  = Math::Polynomial::Multivariate->
                    monomial(1, {'x' => 1, 'y' => 1});
  my $pol = $x**2 + $xy - $two;
  print "$pol\n";               # prints: -2 + x^2 + x*y

  my $rat = Math::BigRat->new('-1/3');
  my $c   = Math::Polynomial::Multivariate->const($rat);
  my $y   = $c->var('y');
  my $lin = $x - $c;
  print "$lin\n";               # prints: 1/3 + x

  my $zero = $c - $c;           # zero polynomial on rationals
  my $null = $c->null;          # dito

  my $p = $c->monomial($rat, { 'a' => 2, 'b' => 1 });
  print "$p\n";                 # prints: -1/3*a^2*b
  my $f = $p->coefficient({'a' => 2, 'b' => 1});
  print "$f\n";                 # prints: -1/3
  my $q = $p->subst('a', $c);
  print "$q\n";                 # prints: -1/27*b
  my $v = $p->evaluate({'a' => 6, 'b' => -1});
  print "$v\n";                 # prints: 12

  my @vars = $pol->variables;
  print "@vars\n";              # prints: x y
  my @exp = $pol->exponents_of('x');
  print "@exp\n";               # prints: 0 1 2
  my $r   = $pol->factor_of('x', 1);
  print "$r\n";                 # prints: y
  my $d = $pol->degree;
  print "$d\n";                 # prints: 2
  my $z = $zero->degree;
  print "$z\n";                 # prints:
  # platform-dependent equivalent of minus infinity

  my $pd = $pol->partial_derivative('x');
  print "$pd\n";                # prints: 2*x + y

DESCRIPTION

Math::Polynomial::Multivariate is a Perl class representing polynomials in any number of variables. It provides a set of operations defined for these polynomials, like addition, multiplication, evaluation, variable substitution, etc., as well as attribute inspection and formatting capabilities.

Objects of this class can be created using some simple constructors and expressions with overloaded arithmetic operators. They are immutable.

Each polynomial object is bound to specific variables. For practical purposes, variables are identified by unique names given as strings. Polynomials bound to different variables can be combined in a single expression, resulting in a new polynomial bound to the union of all contributing variables. Any polynomial will be treated as a polynomial of degree zero with respect to a variable it is not already bound to. Therefore, all polynomials sharing a common coefficient space are compatible to each other.

Polynomials are considered equal if they are bound to the same set of variables and have equal non-zero coefficients. Zero coefficients do not bind, thus the zero polynomial is not bound to any variable.

Constructors

null

Invoked as a class method, Math::Polynomial::Multivariate->null returns a null polynomial on Perl numerical values.

Invoked as an object method, $obj->null returns a null polynomial on the coefficient space of $obj.

const

Invoked as a class method, Math::Polynomial::Multivariate->const($value) returns a constant polynomial on the coefficent space containing $value.

Invoked as an object method, $obj->const($value) returns a constant polynomial on the coefficient space of $obj. $value must belong to the same coefficient space.

var

Invoked as a class method, Math::Polynomial::Multivariate->var($varname) returns an identity polynomial in the named variable on Perl numerical values.

Invoked as an object method, $obj->var($varname) returns an identity polynomial in the named variable on the coefficient space of $obj.

monomial

Invoked as a class method, Math::Polynomial::Multivariate->monomial($const, $vars) returns a one-term polynomial on the coefficent space containing $const.

Invoked as an object method, $obj->monomial($const, $vars) returns a one-term polynomial on the coefficient space of $obj. $const must belong to the same coefficient space.

In both cases, $vars is a hashref mapping variable names to non-negative integer exponents.

Example: $p->monomial(1, {'x' => 1}) is equivalent to $p->var('x').

Overloaded Perl Operators

Negation

If $p is a polynomial, -$p evaluates as the negative of $p.

Addition

If $p and $q are polynomials on the same coefficient space, $p + $q evaluates as the sum of $p and $q.

Subtraction

If $p and $q are polynomials on the same coefficient space, $p - $q evaluates as the difference of $p and $q.

Multiplication

If $p and $q are polynomials on the same coefficient space, $p * $q evaluates as the product of $p and $q.

Exponentiation

If $p is a polynomial and $n is a non-negative integer number, $p ** $n evaluates as the $nth power of $p.

Checks for Equality

If $p and $q are polynomials on the same coefficient space, $p == $q and $p != $q are boolean expressions telling whether $p and $q are equal or unequal, respectively.

Equality implies that both polynomials are bound to the same variables and are composed of the same terms.

Boolean Context

In boolean context, null polynomials evaluate as false and all other polynomials as true.

String Context

In string context, polynomials are converted to a string representation. See "as_string".

Other Operators

subst

If $p and $q are polynomials on the same coefficient space, $p->subst($varname, $q) returns a polynomial obtained from $p by substituting the variable named $varname by the polynomial $q.

partial_derivative

If $p is a polynomial on a coefficient space compatible to Perl integer numbers, $p->partial_derivative($varname) returns the first partial derivative of $p with respect to the variable named $varname.

If $p is a polynomial on any coefficient space and $cast is a coderef referencing a subroutine that takes a positive integer n and returns the element representing n times the unit element of this coefficient space, $p->partial_derivative($varname, $cast) returns the first partial derivative of $p with respect to the variable named $varname.

Example: For the coefficient space of 4×4 matrices of Perl numerical values, $cast could be a reference to a function taking a single value and returning a 4×4 diagonal matrix with this value.

Inspection Methods

is_null

If $p is a polynomial, $p->is_null returns a boolean value telling whether $p is the null polynomial.

is_not_null

If $p is a polynomial, $p->is_not_null returns a boolean value telling whether $p is not the null polynomial.

variables

If $p is a polynomial, $p->variables returns an alphabetically ordered list of names of variables this polynomial is bound to.

Note that only variables in terms with non-zero coefficients are taken into account. For example, a null polynomial will yield an empty list even if it was the result of an addition of non-zero polynomials.

exponents_of

If $p is a polynomial, $p->exponents_of($varname) returns a list of non-negative integer exponents in ascending numerical order, specifying all powers of the named variable that are present in terms with non-zero coefficients of the polynomial.

Note that if $p is not bound to the named variable and not zero, a single exponent of zero will be returned. If $p is the null polynomial, an empty list will be returned.

factor_of

If $p is a polynomial, $p->factor_of($varname, $exponent) returns the polynomial factor of the given variable power in that polynomial. In other words, the terms in $p are grouped by powers of the named variable, the specific power is selected, and factored out.

Example:

  $c = Math::Polynomial::Multivariate->const(3);
  $x = $c->var('x');
  $y = $c->var('y');
  $p = ($y**2 + $c * $y - $c) * $x**2 + ($y - $c) * $x**3;
  $q = $p->factor_of('x', 2);   # (I)
  $q = $y**2 + $c * $y - $c;    # same as (I)
coefficient

If $p is a polynomial and $variables is a hashref mapping variable names to non-negative integer exponents, $p->coefficient($variables) returns the coefficient of an individual term in $p with the given signature.

Example:

  $c = Math::Polynomial::Multivariate->const(4);
  $x = $c->var('x');
  $y = $c->var('y');
  $p = $x**2 * $y - $c * $x * $y**2;
  $a = $p->coefficient( {'x' => 2, 'y' => 1} );
  $b = $p->coefficient( {'x' => 1, 'y' => 2} );
  $c = $p->coefficient( {'x' => 0, 'y' => 3} );
  # now $a is 1, $b is -4, $c is 0

Note that in the $variables hashref, variables with zero exponent may be omitted.

degree

If $p is a polynomial with only one term with non-zero coefficient, $p->degree returns the sum of all exponents of the variables present there.

If $p is an arbitrary polynomial other than null, $p->degree returns the largest degree of all its terms with non-zero coefficients.

If $p is the null polynomial, $p->degree returns minus infinity.

Example:

  $c = Math::Polynomial::Multivariate->const(5);
  $x = $c->var('x');
  $y = $c->var('y');
  $p = $x**3 * $y**3 - $c * $x**2 * $y**5;
  $d = $p->degree;
  # now $d is 7
multidegree

If $p is a polynomial, $p->multidegree returns a hashref mapping variable names to positive integer exponents, denoting the largest degree of each variable in any term of $p with non-zero coefficient. Zero exponents are omitted. Thus, the null polynomial as well as constant polynomials will yield an empty hashref.

Example:

  $c = Math::Polynomial::Multivariate->const(6);
  $x = $c->var('x');
  $y = $c->var('y');
  $p = $x**3 * $y**3 - $c * $x**2 * $y**5;
  $m = $p->multidegree;
  # now $m is { 'x' => 3, 'y' => 5 }
number_of_terms

If $p is a polynomial, $p->number_of_terms returns the number of distinct terms with non-zero coefficients of $p.

This number will be at least 0 and at most the product of all values, incremented by one, of the multidegree hashref.

evaluate

If $p is a polynomial and $values is a hashref mapping variable names to values in the coefficient space of $p, $p->evaluate($values) returns the value of the polynomial at the given coordinates. The $values hashref must contain all names of variables that appear in terms with non-zero coefficients. It may contain values of additional variables.

Example:

  $c = Math::Polynomial::Multivariate->const(7);
  $x = $c->var('x');
  $y = $c->var('y');
  $p = $c + $x + $y;
  $z = $p->evaluate({'x' => 8, 'y' => 9});
  # now $z is 24
as_string

If $p is a polynomial, $p->as_string returns a text representation of it. It is the same as the value of $p in string context.

Variables are ordered lexically, terms are ordered from lowest exponent to highest, exponents of last variables taking precedence over earlier ones. Each term is represented as a product of the coefficient and the variable powers, with an asterisk as a multiplication symbol and a plus as addition symbol between terms. A caret is used as exponentiation symbol. Terms with zero coefficient are suppressed except for the null polynomial which is represented by the constant zero. Variables are given by their name. Coefficients appear in whatever form they take on in string context. Values of one as a coefficient or as an exponent are omitted where possible.

Example:

  1 + 2*x + x^2 + 2*y + 2*x*y + y^2

EXPORT

None.

DIAGNOSTICS

This module generally croaks on usage errors it detects. This means, outside of an eval block program execution will terminate with an error message indicating the offending method call.

illegal exponent

The power operator (**) was used with a negative or non-integer exponent. In the domain of polynomials, only exponentiation by non-negative integers is defined in general.

missing variable: %s
missing variables: %s

The evaluate method was called with a hashref not containing all required variable names. The missing name or names are listed in the message.

DEPENDENCIES

This version of Math::Polynomial::Multivariate requires these other modules and libraries to run:

  • perl version 5.8.0 or higher

  • overload (usually bundled with perl)

  • Carp (usually bundled with perl)

Additional requirements to run the test suite are:

  • Test::More (usually bundled with perl)

Recommended modules for increased functionality are:

  • Math::BigRat (usually bundled with perl)

  • Any other module providing a coefficient space with overloaded arithmetic operators +, -, *, **, ==, !=, and stringification.

BUGS AND LIMITATIONS

Currently, not a lot of usage errors are caught and reported via individual diagnostics. Notably, there are no safeguards against mixing incompatible coefficients within one polynomial expression.

Some constructors may look more generic than they actually are: It would be best, perhaps, not to use null and var as class methods at all, as this usage implies a coefficient space, and one with many shortcomings at that.

There may be a hidden limitation on the maximal exponent of a variable on some platforms. This will go away or become an explicit limitation before this library is declared stable. If your exponents stay well below 2**32 you probably should not worry.

The functionality of this module should not be taken as final.

Bug reports and suggestions are always welcome -- please submit them via the CPAN RT: http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Math-Polynomial-Multivariate

ROADMAP

As of version 0.003, the module interface is still in beta state. While upcoming improvements are intended to be mostly extensions, changes breaking backwards compatibility may yet be considered.

Features planned for future releases include:

  • Polynomial substitution, using remainder decomposition. This generalizes simple variable substitution.

  • Interoperability with, or conversion functions to/from, Math::Polynomial objects.

  • Division with remainder.

  • More string formatting options.

SEE ALSO

AUTHOR

Martin Becker, <becker-cpan-mp@cozap.com>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

Copyright (c) 2011-2013 by Martin Becker. All rights reserved.

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself, either Perl version 5.8.0 or, at your option, any later version of Perl 5 you may have available.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty; without even the implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.