Math And Database Functions; Argument Rules - Brother Ensemble PDP-300CJ Owner's Manual

Math and Database Functions

CAUTION:
Ensemble applications use
floating point math. While
floating point calculations
have benefits such as speed,
they are inherently
inaccurate. All spreadsheets
and calculators based on
floating point math produce
errors in the 17th or 18th
significant digit. While this is
often not detectable, the
errors become apparent in
some calculations, especially
financial functions such as
IRR and NPV. Ensemble
adheres to the IEEE 754
standards for floating point
calculations.

Argument Rules

Functions are built-in formulas that automatically perform common
calculations and insert data in Spreadsheet. For example, you can use a
built-in function to total a group of numbers, calculate the net present
value of an investment, or insert the current date and time.
Functions are represented by a keyword followed by arguments enclosed
in parentheses. The function returns a value based on the arguments you
enter. For example, in the expression SQRT(144), SQRT is the keyword for
the square root function and 144 is the argument. This function returns 12,
the square root of 144.
The following rules apply to using arguments in functions:
S You can use numbers, addresses, ranges, or cell and range names in
Spreadsheet; and field names in Addressbook as values.
S You must enclose text string arguments in quotation marks.
S You must specify interest rates as decimal values, and they must
correspond to the same time unit as the term. For example,
payments that are monthly require a monthly interest rate.
S You must express trigonometric angle arguments in radians. If you
want to convert degrees to radians, use the RADIANS() function.
S Some trigonometric functions return radians. If you need the
returned value expressed in degrees, use the DEGREES() function.
Appendix 361