Search Contact information
University of Cambridge Home Department of Engineering
University of Cambridge >  Engineering Department >  computing help
next up previous contents
Next: More Information Up: Miscellaneous Previous: Optimising

Numerical Analysis

It helps to know some numerical analysis terms.
Inf :-
The IEEE representation of positive infinity.
NaN :-
The IEEE representation of `Not-a-Number', used when an operation has an undefined result (e.g. 0/0). All logical operations involving NaN return false, except for $\neq$. If you try to plot points with the value NaN, nothing appears. This can be useful for clipping, making holes in surfaces etc.
Condition Number :-
The condition number of a matrix (calculated using cond) gives a fair indication of how well the matrices can be operated upon.



© Cambridge University Engineering Dept
Information provided by Tim Love
2006-07-24