Re: Issues with factorial operator - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Cui Shijun
Subject Re: Issues with factorial operator
Date
Msg-id 306760850706090320i72b45438vc3f6725b8d8318ab@mail.gmail.com
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: Issues with factorial operator  ("Dann Corbit" <DCorbit@connx.com>)
List pgsql-hackers
yeah, simple and correct, I like that. :-)

2007/6/9, Dann Corbit <DCorbit@connx.com>:
> > -----Original Message-----
> [snip]
> > Hum... I think there is a little improvement: when n is too large,(say
> > n>10, 000) we can use Stirling's formula to get the estimated value of
> > n!    :-)
>
> Or (rather) the log base 10 of Stirling's formula.  The n! estimator
> will overflow for sure, unless we take the log of it.
>
> Rather than all that, why not just figure out what the largest number of
> digits we will allow is and then don't allow inputs that will generate
> more than that.
>
> The program I gave could be run with the target accuracy as the break
> out of the loop and then the test would be:
>
> <type> factorial(<type> n)
> {
> if (n > CONSTANT_PRECOMPUTED_LIMIT)
>     return NULL;
> else
>     {
>     return compute_actual_factorial(n);
>     }
> }
>


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