package integer; our $VERSION = '1.00'; =head1 NAME integer - Perl pragma to use integer arithmetic instead of floating point =head1 SYNOPSIS use integer; $x = 10/3; # $x is now 3, not 3.33333333333333333 =head1 DESCRIPTION This tells the compiler to use integer operations from here to the end of the enclosing BLOCK. On many machines, this doesn't matter a great deal for most computations, but on those without floating point hardware, it can make a big difference in performance. Note that this only affects how certain operators handle their operands and results, and not all numbers everywhere. Specifically, C has the effect that before computing the result of X + Y, X - Y, X / Y, X * Y, X % Y, or -X (unary minus), the operands X and Y have their fractional portions truncated, and the result will have its fractional portion truncated as well. For example, this code use integer; $x = 5.8; $y = 2.5; $, = ", "; print $x, -$x, $x + $y, $x - $y, $x / $y, $x * $y; will print: 5.8, -5, 7, 3, 2, 10 Note that $x is still printed as having its true non-integer value of 5.8 since it wasn't operated on. Also, arguments passed to functions and the values returned by them are not affected by C. E.g., srand(1.5); $, = ", "; print sin(.5), cos(.5), atan2(1,2), sqrt(2), rand(10); will give the same result with or without C The power operator C<**> is also not affected, so that 2 ** .5 is always the square root of 2. Finally, C also has an affect on the bitwise operators "&", "|", "^", "~", "<<", and ">>". Normally, the operands and results are treated as unsigned integers, but with C the operands and results are signed. This means, among other things, that ~0 is -1, and -2 & -5 is -6. Internally, native integer arithmetic (as provided by your C compiler) is used. This means that Perl's own semantics for arithmetic operations may not be preserved. One common source of trouble is the modulus of negative numbers, which Perl does one way, but your hardware may do another. % perl -le 'print (4 % -3)' -2 % perl -Minteger -le 'print (4 % -3)' 1 See L. =cut $integer::hint_bits = 0x1; sub import { $^H |= $integer::hint_bits; } sub unimport { $^H &= ~$integer::hint_bits; } 1;