# This is a rather minimalistic library, whose purpose is to test inheritance # from its parent class. package Math::BigInt::Lib::Minimal; use 5.006001; use strict; use warnings; use Carp; use Math::BigInt::Lib; our @ISA = ('Math::BigInt::Lib'); #my $BASE_LEN = 4; my $BASE_LEN = 9; my $BASE = 0 + ("1" . ("0" x $BASE_LEN)); my $MAX_VAL = $BASE - 1; # Do we need api_version() at all, now that we have a virtual parent class that # will provide any missing methods? Fixme! sub api_version () { 2; } sub _new { my ($class, $str) = @_; croak "Invalid input string '$str'" unless $str =~ /^([1-9]\d*|0)\z/; my $n = length $str; my $p = int($n / $BASE_LEN); my $q = $n % $BASE_LEN; my $format = $] < 5.9008 ? "a$BASE_LEN" x $p : "(a$BASE_LEN)*"; $format = "a$q" . $format if $q > 0; my $self = [ reverse(map { 0 + $_ } unpack($format, $str)) ]; return bless $self, $class; } ############################################################################## # convert back to string and number sub _str { my ($class, $x) = @_; my $idx = $#$x; # index of last element # Handle first one differently, since it should not have any leading zeros. my $str = int($x->[$idx]); if ($idx > 0) { my $z = '0' x ($BASE_LEN - 1); while (--$idx >= 0) { $str .= substr($z . $x->[$idx], -$BASE_LEN); } } $str; } ############################################################################## # actual math code sub _add { # (ref to int_num_array, ref to int_num_array) # # Routine to add two base 1eX numbers stolen from Knuth Vol 2 Algorithm A # pg 231. There are separate routines to add and sub as per Knuth pg 233. # This routine modifies array x, but not y. my ($c, $x, $y) = @_; # $x + 0 => $x return $x if @$y == 1 && $y->[0] == 0; # 0 + $y => $y->copy if (@$x == 1 && $x->[0] == 0) { @$x = @$y; return $x; } # For each in Y, add Y to X and carry. If after that, something is left in # X, foreach in X add carry to X and then return X, carry. Trades one # "$j++" for having to shift arrays. my $i; my $car = 0; my $j = 0; for $i (@$y) { $x->[$j] -= $BASE if $car = (($x->[$j] += $i + $car) >= $BASE) ? 1 : 0; $j++; } while ($car != 0) { $x->[$j] -= $BASE if $car = (($x->[$j] += $car) >= $BASE) ? 1 : 0; $j++; } $x; } sub _sub { # (ref to int_num_array, ref to int_num_array, swap) # # Subtract base 1eX numbers -- stolen from Knuth Vol 2 pg 232, $x > $y # subtract Y from X by modifying x in place my ($c, $sx, $sy, $s) = @_; my $car = 0; my $i; my $j = 0; if (!$s) { for $i (@$sx) { last unless defined $sy->[$j] || $car; $i += $BASE if $car = (($i -= ($sy->[$j] || 0) + $car) < 0); $j++; } # might leave leading zeros, so fix that return __strip_zeros($sx); } for $i (@$sx) { # We can't do an early out if $x < $y, since we need to copy the high # chunks from $y. Found by Bob Mathews. #last unless defined $sy->[$j] || $car; $sy->[$j] += $BASE if $car = ($sy->[$j] = $i - ($sy->[$j] || 0) - $car) < 0; $j++; } # might leave leading zeros, so fix that __strip_zeros($sy); } # The following _mul function is an exact copy of _mul_use_div_64 in # Math::BigInt::Calc. sub _mul { # (ref to int_num_array, ref to int_num_array) # multiply two numbers in internal representation # modifies first arg, second need not be different from first # works for 64 bit integer with "use integer" my ($c, $xv, $yv) = @_; use integer; if (@$yv == 1) { # shortcut for two small numbers, also handles $x == 0 if (@$xv == 1) { # shortcut for two very short numbers (improved by Nathan Zook) # works also if xv and yv are the same reference, and handles also $x == 0 if (($xv->[0] *= $yv->[0]) >= $BASE) { $xv->[0] = $xv->[0] - ($xv->[1] = $xv->[0] / $BASE) * $BASE; } return $xv; } # $x * 0 => 0 if ($yv->[0] == 0) { @$xv = (0); return $xv; } # multiply a large number a by a single element one, so speed up my $y = $yv->[0]; my $car = 0; foreach my $i (@$xv) { #$i = $i * $y + $car; $car = $i / $BASE; $i -= $car * $BASE; $i = $i * $y + $car; $i -= ($car = $i / $BASE) * $BASE; } push @$xv, $car if $car != 0; return $xv; } # shortcut for result $x == 0 => result = 0 return $xv if ( ((@$xv == 1) && ($xv->[0] == 0)) ); # since multiplying $x with $x fails, make copy in this case $yv = $c->_copy($xv) if $xv == $yv; # same references? my @prod = (); my ($prod, $car, $cty, $xi, $yi); for $xi (@$xv) { $car = 0; $cty = 0; # looping through this if $xi == 0 is silly - so optimize it away! $xi = (shift @prod || 0), next if $xi == 0; for $yi (@$yv) { $prod = $xi * $yi + ($prod[$cty] || 0) + $car; $prod[$cty++] = $prod - ($car = $prod / $BASE) * $BASE; } $prod[$cty] += $car if $car; # need really to check for 0? $xi = shift @prod || 0; # || 0 makes v5.005_3 happy } push @$xv, @prod; $xv; } # The following _div function is an exact copy of _div_use_div_64 in # Math::BigInt::Calc. sub _div { # ref to array, ref to array, modify first array and return remainder if # in list context # This version works on 64 bit integers my ($c, $x, $yorg) = @_; use integer; # the general div algorithm here is about O(N*N) and thus quite slow, so # we first check for some special cases and use shortcuts to handle them. # This works, because we store the numbers in a chunked format where each # element contains 5..7 digits (depending on system). # if both numbers have only one element: if (@$x == 1 && @$yorg == 1) { # shortcut, $yorg and $x are two small numbers if (wantarray) { my $rem = [ $x->[0] % $yorg->[0] ]; bless $rem, $c; $x->[0] = int($x->[0] / $yorg->[0]); return ($x, $rem); } else { $x->[0] = int($x->[0] / $yorg->[0]); return $x; } } # if x has more than one, but y has only one element: if (@$yorg == 1) { my $rem; $rem = $c->_mod($c->_copy($x), $yorg) if wantarray; # shortcut, $y is < $BASE my $j = @$x; my $r = 0; my $y = $yorg->[0]; my $b; while ($j-- > 0) { $b = $r * $BASE + $x->[$j]; $x->[$j] = int($b/$y); $r = $b % $y; } pop @$x if @$x > 1 && $x->[-1] == 0; # splice up a leading zero return ($x, $rem) if wantarray; return $x; } # now x and y have more than one element # check whether y has more elements than x, if yet, the result will be 0 if (@$yorg > @$x) { my $rem; $rem = $c->_copy($x) if wantarray; # make copy @$x = 0; # set to 0 return ($x, $rem) if wantarray; # including remainder? return $x; # only x, which is [0] now } # check whether the numbers have the same number of elements, in that case # the result will fit into one element and can be computed efficiently if (@$yorg == @$x) { my $rem; # if $yorg has more digits than $x (it's leading element is longer than # the one from $x), the result will also be 0: if (length(int($yorg->[-1])) > length(int($x->[-1]))) { $rem = $c->_copy($x) if wantarray; # make copy @$x = 0; # set to 0 return ($x, $rem) if wantarray; # including remainder? return $x; } # now calculate $x / $yorg if (length(int($yorg->[-1])) == length(int($x->[-1]))) { # same length, so make full compare my $a = 0; my $j = @$x - 1; # manual way (abort if unequal, good for early ne) while ($j >= 0) { last if ($a = $x->[$j] - $yorg->[$j]); $j--; } # $a contains the result of the compare between X and Y # a < 0: x < y, a == 0: x == y, a > 0: x > y if ($a <= 0) { $rem = $c->_zero(); # a = 0 => x == y => rem 0 $rem = $c->_copy($x) if $a != 0; # a < 0 => x < y => rem = x @$x = 0; # if $a < 0 $x->[0] = 1 if $a == 0; # $x == $y return ($x, $rem) if wantarray; # including remainder? return $x; } # $x >= $y, so proceed normally } } # all other cases: my $y = $c->_copy($yorg); # always make copy to preserve my ($car, $bar, $prd, $dd, $xi, $yi, @q, $v2, $v1, @d, $tmp, $q, $u2, $u1, $u0); $car = $bar = $prd = 0; if (($dd = int($BASE / ($y->[-1] + 1))) != 1) { for $xi (@$x) { $xi = $xi * $dd + $car; $xi -= ($car = int($xi / $BASE)) * $BASE; } push(@$x, $car); $car = 0; for $yi (@$y) { $yi = $yi * $dd + $car; $yi -= ($car = int($yi / $BASE)) * $BASE; } } else { push(@$x, 0); } # @q will accumulate the final result, $q contains the current computed # part of the final result @q = (); ($v2, $v1) = @$y[-2, -1]; $v2 = 0 unless $v2; while ($#$x > $#$y) { ($u2, $u1, $u0) = @$x[-3..-1]; $u2 = 0 unless $u2; #warn "oups v1 is 0, u0: $u0 $y->[-2] $y->[-1] l ",scalar @$y,"\n" # if $v1 == 0; $q = (($u0 == $v1) ? $MAX_VAL : int(($u0 * $BASE + $u1) / $v1)); --$q while ($v2 * $q > ($u0 * $BASE +$ u1- $q*$v1) * $BASE + $u2); if ($q) { ($car, $bar) = (0, 0); for ($yi = 0, $xi = $#$x - $#$y - 1; $yi <= $#$y; ++$yi, ++$xi) { $prd = $q * $y->[$yi] + $car; $prd -= ($car = int($prd / $BASE)) * $BASE; $x->[$xi] += $BASE if ($bar = (($x->[$xi] -= $prd + $bar) < 0)); } if ($x->[-1] < $car + $bar) { $car = 0; --$q; for ($yi = 0, $xi = $#$x - $#$y - 1; $yi <= $#$y; ++$yi, ++$xi) { $x->[$xi] -= $BASE if ($car = (($x->[$xi] += $y->[$yi] + $car) >= $BASE)); } } } pop(@$x); unshift(@q, $q); } if (wantarray) { my $d = bless [], $c; if ($dd != 1) { $car = 0; for $xi (reverse @$x) { $prd = $car * $BASE + $xi; $car = $prd - ($tmp = int($prd / $dd)) * $dd; unshift(@$d, $tmp); } } else { @$d = @$x; } @$x = @q; __strip_zeros($x); __strip_zeros($d); return ($x, $d); } @$x = @q; __strip_zeros($x); $x; } # The following _mod function is an exact copy of _mod in Math::BigInt::Calc. sub _mod { # if possible, use mod shortcut my ($c, $x, $yo) = @_; # slow way since $y too big if (@$yo > 1) { my ($xo, $rem) = $c->_div($x, $yo); @$x = @$rem; return $x; } my $y = $yo->[0]; # if both are single element arrays if (@$x == 1) { $x->[0] %= $y; return $x; } # if @$x has more than one element, but @$y is a single element my $b = $BASE % $y; if ($b == 0) { # when BASE % Y == 0 then (B * BASE) % Y == 0 # (B * BASE) % $y + A % Y => A % Y # so need to consider only last element: O(1) $x->[0] %= $y; } elsif ($b == 1) { # else need to go through all elements in @$x: O(N), but loop is a bit # simplified my $r = 0; foreach (@$x) { $r = ($r + $_) % $y; # not much faster, but heh... #$r += $_ % $y; $r %= $y; } $r = 0 if $r == $y; $x->[0] = $r; } else { # else need to go through all elements in @$x: O(N) my $r = 0; my $bm = 1; foreach (@$x) { $r = ($_ * $bm + $r) % $y; $bm = ($bm * $b) % $y; #$r += ($_ % $y) * $bm; #$bm *= $b; #$bm %= $y; #$r %= $y; } $r = 0 if $r == $y; $x->[0] = $r; } @$x = $x->[0]; # keep one element of @$x return $x; } sub __strip_zeros { # Internal normalization function that strips leading zeros from the array. # Args: ref to array my $x = shift; push @$x, 0 if @$x == 0; # div might return empty results, so fix it return $x if @$x == 1; # early out #print "strip: cnt $cnt i $i\n"; # '0', '3', '4', '0', '0', # 0 1 2 3 4 # cnt = 5, i = 4 # i = 4 # i = 3 # => fcnt = cnt - i (5-2 => 3, cnt => 5-1 = 4, throw away from 4th pos) # >= 1: skip first part (this can be zero) my $i = $#$x; while ($i > 0) { last if $x->[$i] != 0; $i--; } $i++; splice(@$x, $i) if $i < @$x; $x; } ############################################################################### # check routine to test internal state for corruptions sub _check { # used by the test suite my ($class, $x) = @_; return "Undefined" unless defined $x; return "$x is not a reference" unless ref($x); return "Not an '$class'" unless ref($x) eq $class; for (my $i = 0 ; $i <= $#$x ; ++ $i) { my $e = $x -> [$i]; return "Element at index $i is undefined" unless defined $e; return "Element at index $i is a '" . ref($e) . "', which is not a scalar" unless ref($e) eq ""; return "Element at index $i is '$e', which does not look like an" . " normal integer" #unless $e =~ /^([1-9]\d*|0)\z/; unless $e =~ /^\d+\z/; return "Element at index $i is '$e', which is negative" if $e < 0; return "Element at index $i is '$e', which is not smaller than" . " the base '$BASE'" if $e >= $BASE; return "Element at index $i (last element) is zero" if $#$x > 0 && $i == $#$x && $e == 0; } return 0; } ############################################################################## ############################################################################## 1; __END__ =pod =head1 NAME Math::BigInt::Calc - Pure Perl module to support Math::BigInt =head1 SYNOPSIS This library provides support for big integer calculations. It is not intended to be used by other modules. Other modules which support the same API (see below) can also be used to support Math::BigInt, like Math::BigInt::GMP and Math::BigInt::Pari. =head1 DESCRIPTION In this library, the numbers are represented in base B = 10**N, where N is the largest possible value that does not cause overflow in the intermediate computations. The base B elements are stored in an array, with the least significant element stored in array element zero. There are no leading zero elements, except a single zero element when the number is zero. For instance, if B = 10000, the number 1234567890 is represented internally as [3456, 7890, 12]. =head1 THE Math::BigInt API In order to allow for multiple big integer libraries, Math::BigInt was rewritten to use a plug-in library for core math routines. Any module which conforms to the API can be used by Math::BigInt by using this in your program: use Math::BigInt lib => 'libname'; 'libname' is either the long name, like 'Math::BigInt::Pari', or only the short version, like 'Pari'. =head2 General Notes A library only needs to deal with unsigned big integers. Testing of input parameter validity is done by the caller, so there is no need to worry about underflow (e.g., in C<_sub()> and C<_dec()>) nor about division by zero (e.g., in C<_div()>) or similar cases. For some methods, the first parameter can be modified. That includes the possibility that you return a reference to a completely different object instead. Although keeping the reference and just changing its contents is preferred over creating and returning a different reference. Return values are always objects, strings, Perl scalars, or true/false for comparison routines. =head2 API version 1 The following methods must be defined in order to support the use by Math::BigInt v1.70 or later. =head3 API version =over 4 =item I Return API version as a Perl scalar, 1 for Math::BigInt v1.70, 2 for Math::BigInt v1.83. =back =head3 Constructors =over 4 =item I<_new(STR)> Convert a string representing an unsigned decimal number to an object representing the same number. The input is normalize, i.e., it matches C<^(0|[1-9]\d*)$>. =item I<_zero()> Return an object representing the number zero. =item I<_one()> Return an object representing the number one. =item I<_two()> Return an object representing the number two. =item I<_ten()> Return an object representing the number ten. =item I<_from_bin(STR)> Return an object given a string representing a binary number. The input has a '0b' prefix and matches the regular expression C<^0[bB](0|1[01]*)$>. =item I<_from_oct(STR)> Return an object given a string representing an octal number. The input has a '0' prefix and matches the regular expression C<^0[1-7]*$>. =item I<_from_hex(STR)> Return an object given a string representing a hexadecimal number. The input has a '0x' prefix and matches the regular expression C<^0x(0|[1-9a-fA-F][\da-fA-F]*)$>. =back =head3 Mathematical functions Each of these methods may modify the first input argument, except I<_bgcd()>, which shall not modify any input argument, and I<_sub()> which may modify the second input argument. =over 4 =item I<_add(OBJ1, OBJ2)> Returns the result of adding OBJ2 to OBJ1. =item I<_mul(OBJ1, OBJ2)> Returns the result of multiplying OBJ2 and OBJ1. =item I<_div(OBJ1, OBJ2)> Returns the result of dividing OBJ1 by OBJ2 and truncating the result to an integer. =item I<_sub(OBJ1, OBJ2, FLAG)> =item I<_sub(OBJ1, OBJ2)> Returns the result of subtracting OBJ2 by OBJ1. If C is false or omitted, OBJ1 might be modified. If C is true, OBJ2 might be modified. =item I<_dec(OBJ)> Decrement OBJ by one. =item I<_inc(OBJ)> Increment OBJ by one. =item I<_mod(OBJ1, OBJ2)> Return OBJ1 modulo OBJ2, i.e., the remainder after dividing OBJ1 by OBJ2. =item I<_sqrt(OBJ)> Return the square root of the object, truncated to integer. =item I<_root(OBJ, N)> Return Nth root of the object, truncated to int. N is E= 3. =item I<_fac(OBJ)> Return factorial of object (1*2*3*4*...). =item I<_pow(OBJ1, OBJ2)> Return OBJ1 to the power of OBJ2. By convention, 0**0 = 1. =item I<_modinv(OBJ1, OBJ2)> Return modular multiplicative inverse, i.e., return OBJ3 so that (OBJ3 * OBJ1) % OBJ2 = 1 % OBJ2 The result is returned as two arguments. If the modular multiplicative inverse does not exist, both arguments are undefined. Otherwise, the arguments are a number (object) and its sign ("+" or "-"). The output value, with its sign, must either be a positive value in the range 1,2,...,OBJ2-1 or the same value subtracted OBJ2. For instance, if the input arguments are objects representing the numbers 7 and 5, the method must either return an object representing the number 3 and a "+" sign, since (3*7) % 5 = 1 % 5, or an object representing the number 2 and "-" sign, since (-2*7) % 5 = 1 % 5. =item I<_modpow(OBJ1, OBJ2, OBJ3)> Return modular exponentiation, (OBJ1 ** OBJ2) % OBJ3. =item I<_rsft(OBJ, N, B)> Shift object N digits right in base B and return the resulting object. This is equivalent to performing integer division by B**N and discarding the remainder, except that it might be much faster, depending on how the number is represented internally. For instance, if the object $obj represents the hexadecimal number 0xabcde, then C<< $obj->_rsft(2, 16) >> returns an object representing the number 0xabc. The "remainer", 0xde, is discarded and not returned. =item I<_lsft(OBJ, N, B)> Shift the object N digits left in base B. This is equivalent to multiplying by B**N, except that it might be much faster, depending on how the number is represented internally. =item I<_log_int(OBJ, B)> Return integer log of OBJ to base BASE. This method has two output arguments, the OBJECT and a STATUS. The STATUS is Perl scalar; it is 1 if OBJ is the exact result, 0 if the result was truncted to give OBJ, and undef if it is unknown whether OBJ is the exact result. =item I<_gcd(OBJ1, OBJ2)> Return the greatest common divisor of OBJ1 and OBJ2. =back =head3 Bitwise operators Each of these methods may modify the first input argument. =over 4 =item I<_and(OBJ1, OBJ2)> Return bitwise and. If necessary, the smallest number is padded with leading zeros. =item I<_or(OBJ1, OBJ2)> Return bitwise or. If necessary, the smallest number is padded with leading zeros. =item I<_xor(OBJ1, OBJ2)> Return bitwise exclusive or. If necessary, the smallest number is padded with leading zeros. =back =head3 Boolean operators =over 4 =item I<_is_zero(OBJ)> Returns a true value if OBJ is zero, and false value otherwise. =item I<_is_one(OBJ)> Returns a true value if OBJ is one, and false value otherwise. =item I<_is_two(OBJ)> Returns a true value if OBJ is two, and false value otherwise. =item I<_is_ten(OBJ)> Returns a true value if OBJ is ten, and false value otherwise. =item I<_is_even(OBJ)> Return a true value if OBJ is an even integer, and a false value otherwise. =item I<_is_odd(OBJ)> Return a true value if OBJ is an even integer, and a false value otherwise. =item I<_acmp(OBJ1, OBJ2)> Compare OBJ1 and OBJ2 and return -1, 0, or 1, if OBJ1 is less than, equal to, or larger than OBJ2, respectively. =back =head3 String conversion =over 4 =item I<_str(OBJ)> Return a string representing the object. The returned string should have no leading zeros, i.e., it should match C<^(0|[1-9]\d*)$>. =item I<_as_bin(OBJ)> Return the binary string representation of the number. The string must have a '0b' prefix. =item I<_as_oct(OBJ)> Return the octal string representation of the number. The string must have a '0x' prefix. Note: This method was required from Math::BigInt version 1.78, but the required API version number was not incremented, so there are older libraries that support API version 1, but do not support C<_as_oct()>. =item I<_as_hex(OBJ)> Return the hexadecimal string representation of the number. The string must have a '0x' prefix. =back =head3 Numeric conversion =over 4 =item I<_num(OBJ)> Given an object, return a Perl scalar number (int/float) representing this number. =back =head3 Miscellaneous =over 4 =item I<_copy(OBJ)> Return a true copy of the object. =item I<_len(OBJ)> Returns the number of the decimal digits in the number. The output is a Perl scalar. =item I<_zeros(OBJ)> Return the number of trailing decimal zeros. The output is a Perl scalar. =item I<_digit(OBJ, N)> Return the Nth digit as a Perl scalar. N is a Perl scalar, where zero refers to the rightmost (least significant) digit, and negative values count from the left (most significant digit). If $obj represents the number 123, then I<$obj->_digit(0)> is 3 and I<_digit(123, -1)> is 1. =item I<_check(OBJ)> Return a true value if the object is OK, and a false value otherwise. This is a check routine to test the internal state of the object for corruption. =back =head2 API version 2 The following methods are required for an API version of 2 or greater. =head3 Constructors =over 4 =item I<_1ex(N)> Return an object representing the number 10**N where N E= 0 is a Perl scalar. =back =head3 Mathematical functions =over 4 =item I<_nok(OBJ1, OBJ2)> Return the binomial coefficient OBJ1 over OBJ1. =back =head3 Miscellaneous =over 4 =item I<_alen(OBJ)> Return the approximate number of decimal digits of the object. The output is one Perl scalar. =back =head2 API optional methods The following methods are optional, and can be defined if the underlying lib has a fast way to do them. If undefined, Math::BigInt will use pure Perl (hence slow) fallback routines to emulate these: =head3 Signed bitwise operators. Each of these methods may modify the first input argument. =over 4 =item I<_signed_or(OBJ1, OBJ2, SIGN1, SIGN2)> Return the signed bitwise or. =item I<_signed_and(OBJ1, OBJ2, SIGN1, SIGN2)> Return the signed bitwise and. =item I<_signed_xor(OBJ1, OBJ2, SIGN1, SIGN2)> Return the signed bitwise exclusive or. =back =head1 WRAP YOUR OWN If you want to port your own favourite c-lib for big numbers to the Math::BigInt interface, you can take any of the already existing modules as a rough guideline. You should really wrap up the latest Math::BigInt and Math::BigFloat testsuites with your module, and replace in them any of the following: use Math::BigInt; by this: use Math::BigInt lib => 'yourlib'; This way you ensure that your library really works 100% within Math::BigInt. =head1 BUGS Please report any bugs or feature requests to C, or through the web interface at L (requires login). We will be notified, and then you'll automatically be notified of progress on your bug as I make changes. =head1 SUPPORT You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command. perldoc Math::BigInt::Calc You can also look for information at: =over 4 =item * RT: CPAN's request tracker L =item * AnnoCPAN: Annotated CPAN documentation L =item * CPAN Ratings L =item * Search CPAN L =item * CPAN Testers Matrix L =item * The Bignum mailing list =over 4 =item * Post to mailing list C =item * View mailing list L =item * Subscribe/Unsubscribe L =back =back =head1 LICENSE This program is free software; you may redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself. =head1 AUTHORS =over 4 =item * Original math code by Mark Biggar, rewritten by Tels L in late 2000. =item * Separated from BigInt and shaped API with the help of John Peacock. =item * Fixed, speed-up, streamlined and enhanced by Tels 2001 - 2007. =item * API documentation corrected and extended by Peter John Acklam, Epjacklam@online.noE =back =head1 SEE ALSO L, L, L, L and L. =cut