Pow stands for power. If you have ever been in a math course, you (probably) already know what Math.pow does. It raises the first number to the power of the second number.
A simple example. Let us begin with this simple Java program. We square 5, which gives us 25. And we square 3 which yields 9. We print the results.
Detail The result of Math.pow is a double. We can cast this to an int if we know that no data loss due to narrowing will occur.
Argument 1 This is the base number we want to raise to a power. So to find the square of 5 we use 5 as the first argument to Math.pow.
Argument 2 This is the exponent. This can be fractional, but it is usually an int like 2 (which means square).
public class Program {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Raise 5 to the power of 2.// ... Then raise 3 to the power of 2.
double result1 = Math.pow(5, 2);
double result2 = Math.pow(3, 2);
// ... Display our results.
System.out.println(result1);
System.out.println(result2);
}
}25.0
9.0
Square. With methods we can add abstractions to our programs to make them easier to reason about. For example this program uses a square() method. It wraps a call to Math.pow.
Tip It may be easier to call square() than use Math.pow with specific arguments. The performance cost here is minimal or none.
public class Program {
static double square(int base) {
// We use Math.pow with a second argument of 2 to square.
return Math.pow(base, 2);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Use square method.
double result1 = square(2);
double result2 = square(3);
double result3 = square(4);
System.out.println(result1);
System.out.println(result2);
System.out.println(result3);
}
}4.0
9.0
16.0
A review. With Math.pow we compute power functions. We square and cube numbers. With Math.pow we have a reliable and heavily-tested method in the Java framework to use.
Dot Net Perls is a collection of tested code examples. Pages are continually updated to stay current, with code correctness a top priority.
Sam Allen is passionate about computer languages. In the past, his work has been recommended by Apple and Microsoft and he has studied computers at a selective university in the United States.