Chapter 4. Questions and Answers

4.1. How do I get e, the Euler number?
4.2. How do I get two fixed digits after the period?
4.3. What about Precision?

4.1.

How do I get e, the Euler number?

Press 1 Shift ex in the KCalc window, press 1 Ctrl+2 N on the keyboard or use the ConstantsMathematics menu.

4.2.

How do I get two fixed digits after the period?

Select Settings Configure KCalc... on the menubar, this will bring up the configuration dialog. Check Set decimal precision and adjust the spin control so that it shows a 2.

4.3.

What about Precision?

The main factor determining the precision of KCalc is whether your libc and libmath supports the C data type long double. If this is the case, KCalc will detect this at compile time and use it as its fundamental data type to represent numbers.

Adjust the Precision in KCalc's Configure dialog so that the above computations work correctly. I recommend a precision of 14 if the fundamental data type for your copy of KCalc is long double, otherwise 8 or 10.

Higher precision doesn't necessarily lead to better results. Play with the precision and you will see what I mean.