exp4j 0.2.x API changes

posted by fas on 2011-07-18 . Tagged as projects, java, exp4j, math, programming

exp4j got a new API Class which was designed to make exp4j more user-friendly, when used in a programmatic way. The changes include setters for variables and custom user defined functions which can be used in expressions.

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de.congrace.exp4j.Calculable interface:

The Calculabe interface defines the methods setVariable(String var,double val) and calculate()
which can be employed by the user to set the variable values of an expression or have the result of the expression be calculated.

de.congrace.exp4j.ExpressionBuilder class:
This class is designated to be used for building Calculables which are employed to actually calculate the results. In order to create a new Calculable from an ExpressionBuilder the build() method is invoked after setting all the necessary parameters:

ExpressionBuilder builder=new ExpressionBuilder("34*2");
Calculable calc=builder.build();
assertTrue(68d == calc.calculate());

If variables are used, the ExpressionBuilder has to be told at least how the variables are named, using one of the following methods, before calling build():

• - Implicit variables in an expression starting with "f(...)": new ExpressionBuilder("f(x,y) = y * x");
• - ExpressionBuilder.withVariable(String var,double value)
• - ExpressionBuilder.withVariables(Map<String,Double> variables)
• - ExpressionBuilder.withVariableNames(String ... variableNames)

Variable values can also be set after building an expression by calling
Calculable.setVariable(String var,double value):

double varX = 1.3d;
double varY = 4.22d;
Calculable calc = new ExpressionBuilder("7*x + 3*y - log(y/x*12)^y").withVariable("x", varX).withVariable("y", varY).build();
double result = calc.calculate();
assertTrue(result == 7 * varX + 3 * varY - Math.pow(Math.log(varY / varX * 12), varY));
varX = 1.79854d;
varY = 9281.123d;
calc.setVariable("x", varX);
calc.setVariable("y", varY);
result = calc.calculate();
assertTrue(result == 7 * varX + 3 * varY - Math.pow(Math.log(varY / varX * 12), varY));

if ExpressionBuilder.withVariableNames(String ... variableNames) is used the method Calculable.setVariable(String var,double val) has to be invoked at least once to actually set variable values, not just their names.

de.congrace.exp4j.CustomFunction interface
The CustomFunction interface has been added to give users the possibility to define their own functions to be used in expressions
So when someone wants to use half(x) as a function name which halfs any given number the CustomFunction interface can be used:

CustomFunction custom1 = new CustomFunction("half") {
    @Override
    public double applyFunction(double[] values) {
        return values[0] / 2d;
    }
};
Calculable calc = new ExpressionBuilder("half(x)")
    .withVariable("x", 1d)
    .withCustomFunction(custom1)
    .build();
assertTrue(0.5d == calc.calculate());

Thanks go out to Folkert van Heusden who suggested having user defined functions in exp4j and who's request was key in motivating me to implement the ExpressionBuilder API.

Tags: projects, java, exp4j, math, programming