The MiniFP package Purpose: minifp.sty defines macros for calculating with decimal real numbers. It provides 8 decimal digits before and after the decimal point. Minifp also provides a stack-based "assembly" language for writing "programs". In its basic form, minifp makes only simple operations available. To get additional operations (sine, cosine, angle, square root, log and exp), the file mfpextra.tex is provided. Minifp should work in both LaTeX and plainTeX. This is version 0.96. It should work reasonably well, barring any bugs, but I expect to spend some time fine-tuning it before calling it version 1.0. License: All files of the minifp distribution (listed below) may be distributed and/or modified under the conditions of the LaTeX Project Public License, either version 1.3c of this license or (at your option) any later version. The latest version of this license is in http://www.latex-project.org/lppl.txt and version 1.3c or later is part of all distributions of LaTeX version 2008/12/01 or later. While every effort has been made to make minifp useful, it comes with no warranty, expressed or implied. Usage: You can use minifp as a LaTeX package with \usepackage{minifp} or use it in plain TeX with \input minifp.sty You can access the extra commands from mfpextra.tex by issuing the command \MFPloadextra after minifp.sty has been loaded. Installation: To install minifp, obtain minifp.tds.zip from CTAN and unzip it in any TDS-compliant texmf tree. Or, in the presence of minifp.dtx, run tex or latex on minifp.ins to unpack the files minifp.sty and mfpextra.tex. Copy those files to some place where both tex and latex can find them. For example, in a TDS compliant system, the directory /tex/generic/minifp/ under one of your TEXMF root directories. The documentation is provided in minifp.pdf. Put minifp.pdf (and this README and the files test*.tex, if you wish) wherever documentation of packages is kept. For example, in the directory /doc/generic/minifp/ under one of your TEXMF root directories. If you wish to regenerate the documentation, run latex (or pdflatex) on minifp.dtx three times and then makeindex -s gind.ist -o minifp.ind minifp.idx and then (pdf)latex again on minifp.dtx. Manifest: These, together with the files minifp.sty and mfpextra.tex (generated by tex-ing minifp.ins), constitute the minifp distribution to which the license applies: minifp.dtx Contains minifp.sty and mfpextra.tex minifp.ins The unpacking script: run tex or latex on it. It reads in minifp.dtx and produces the files minifp.sty and mfpextra.tex minifp.pdf Documentation test1.tex A suite of tests, including error messages (plain TeX) test2.tex More tests, including long tests of speed (plain TeX) README This file. This distribution, the latest updates, and possibly some past versions, should also be available at my web site: . History: Version 0.96: Added random number generator, based on random.tex Version 0.95: More testing. Changed square root of negative from an error to a warning. Documentation updated. Now mfpextra checks for minifp.sty and inputs it if needed. Version 0.94: Improved accuracy of log, sin and sqrt. Version 0.93: Corrected mistyped data for logarithm. Fixed bugs in degree/radian conversions. Version 0.92: Corrected sign of floor and ceiling. Corrected occasional minus sign in front of 0.0 for sin or cos. Version 0.9 : angle: near maximum accuracy, at some cost to speed. Version 0.8 : exp: now more accurate for many cases. Version 0.7 : sqrt: now exact when possible and much more accurate. Version 0.6 : Added angle to mfpextra. Changed package name to minifp. Version 0.5 : Added sqrt, deg, rad to mfpextra. Version 0.4 : Added log, exp, pow to mfpextra. Version 0.3 : Added mfpextra.tex, defines sin and cos. Version 0.2 : Added macros for printing, formatting the results. Version 0.1 : First working set of macros. Package named mfp.sty. -- Dan Luecking Department of Mathematical Sciences 1 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701-1201 U.S.A.