Using the numeric libraries

The Standard Library has several libraries of classes to perform numeric manipulations. In this section we will cover two: compile-time arithmetic, using <ratio>, and complex numbers, using <complex>.

Compile time arithmetic

Fractions are a problem because there are some for which there are not enough significant figures to accurately represent them, resulting in losing accuracy when you use them in further arithmetic. Furthermore, computers are binary and merely converting decimal fractional parts to binary will lose accuracy. The <ratio> library provides classes that allow you to represent fractional numbers as objects that are ratios of integers, and perform fraction calculations as ratios. Only once you have performed all the fractional arithmetic will you convert the number to decimal, and this means that the potential loss of accuracy is minimized. The calculations performed by the classes in the <ratio> library are carried out at compile...