[Published in Vector Vol.13 No.2. The display of extended integers is that used in J4.]

J3.02, released in June 1996, provides extended integers; the facilities are similar to those described in the recent series of Vector articles by Sullivan [1995, 1996]. The monad x: applies to integers and produces extended precision integers. Extended constants may also be entered as a sequence of decimal digits terminated by an x, for example, the 2-element vector 1234x 56x is equivalent to x: 1234 56 . Various primitives produce extended results if the argument(s) are extended. For example:

   ! 40
8.15915e47

   ! 40x
815915283247897734345611269596115894272000000000
   */ x: >: i. 40
   
815915283247897734345611269596115894272000000000

Some verbs v signal domain error on some extended arguments because the result is not integral; however, <.@v and >.@v are closed on extended arguments. For example:

   1234 % 5x
|domain error
|   1234    %5x

   1234 <.@% 5x
246

   1234 % 2x
617

   1234 >.@% 2x
617

   ] r=. <.@%: 2 * 10^50x
14142135623730950488016887

    *: r + ,. _1 0 1
199999999999999999999999964868192079803881021136996
199999999999999999999999993152463327265781997170769
200000000000000000000000021436734574727682973204544

Verbs which have not been extended but will be extended, signal nonce error on extended arguments (for example, the monad <.@o. , the floor of times); verbs which have not been extended and will not be extended (for example %. , matrix inverse and matrix divide), signal domain error on extended arguments. Comparisons involving extended integers are exact. Various non-integer values can be computed to a large number of decimal places using extended integers. For example, the golden ratio phi can be computed to 40 decimal places using several different methods:

Method 1. Phi is -:1+%:5 , half of one plus the square root of 5.

   -: 1 + %: 5
1.61803

   <.@-: s + <.@%: 5 * *: s=. 10^40x
16180339887498948482045868343656381177203

Method 2. Phi is the limit of the continued fraction (+%)/n$1 .

   (+%)/20$1
1.61803

Pairs of integers are used to represent fractions. The number of terms required can be estimated using ordinary (non-extended) operations. Thus:

   reduce=: % +./
   plus  =: [: reduce +/@(*|.) , *&{:
   recip =: |.
   reduce 10 25x          Reduce to lowest terms
2 5

   3 4x plus 5 6x         Sum in lowest terms
19 12

   recip 3 4x             Reciprocal
4 3

   (plus recip)/ 20$1x    20 terms of continued fraction
6765 4181

   x=. (+%)/\ 20$1        Now estimate # of terms req'd
   (-:1+%:5) - x          Approximation errors
0.618034 _0.381966 0.118034 _0.04863268 0.01803399 ...

   2 %/\ (-:1+%:5) - x    Ratios in approximation errors
_1.61803 _3.23607 _2.42705 _2.69672 _2.58885 _2.62931 ...

   _5[\ 2 %/\ (-:1+%:5) - x       Present in 5 columns
_1.61803 _3.23607 _2.42705 _2.69672 _2.58885
_2.62931 _2.61375 _2.61967 _2.61741 _2.61827
_2.61794 _2.61807 _2.61802 _2.61804 _2.61803
_2.61803 _2.61803 _2.61803 _2.61803        0

   2.6 ^. 10^40           About 96 terms are required
96.3917

   y=. (plus recip)/\ 100 2$1x
   $y
100 2

   ,. <.@%/"1 (95)}. (10^40x 0) *"1 y
16180339887498948482045868343656381177204
16180339887498948482045868343656381177202
16180339887498948482045868343656381177203
16180339887498948482045868343656381177202
16180339887498948482045868343656381177203

Method 3. Using the verbs previously defined to work on integer pairs representing fractions, we have:

   (plus recip)/\ 10 2$1x
 1  1
 2  1
 3  2
 5  3
 8  5
13  8
21 13
34 21
55 34
89 55

It is seen (and easily proved) that partial sums of the continued fraction are ratios of consecutive Fibonacci numbers. Fibonacci numbers are rows of the powers of the matrix 0 1,:1 1 , computed efficiently by repeated squaring. (See Hui [1996], "Linear Recurrences and Matrix Powers".) Thus:

   x  =: +/ .*      Matrix product
   pow=: 4 : 'x/ x~^:(b#i.-#b=.#:y.) x.'
   
   ] M=: x: 0 1,:1 1
0 1
1 1

   M pow 4
2 3
3 5

   M x M x M x M
2 3
3 5

   M pow 100
218922995834555169026 354224848179261915075
354224848179261915075 573147844013817084101

   <.@% / (10^40x 0) * |. {: M pow 100
16180339887498948482045868343656381177203x

Finally, the phrase m&|@^ is supported by special code, on extended integer arguments and ordinary integer arguments alike, making it possible to compute the final result even when the intermediate result is enormous. For example:

   1e6 | 2 ^ 24
777216

   2 (1e6&|@^) 24
777216

   2 (1e6&|@^) 10^100x
109376

References

Sullivan, John, Multi-Precision Arithmetic: Parts I-IV, Vector, Volume 12, 1-4, 1995 7 and 10, 1996 1 and 4.