Get the absolute value of -42 and the square root of 16.

← Operators and Expressions · Ref: Q1104

Prefix unary operators:

  positive <- abs negVal
  side <- sqrt area

Keyword operators, not method calls -- no parentheses needed. abs works on Integer and Float; sqrt on Float. See Q240 for arithmetic operators.

Example

defines module qa.operators.unaryabssqrt

  defines program

    UnaryAbsSqrtDemo()
      stdout <- Stdout()

      //Absolute value of a negative integer
      negVal <- -42
      positive <- abs negVal
      stdout.println(`abs -42: ${positive}`)

      //Square root of a float
      area <- 16.0
      side <- sqrt area
      stdout.println(`sqrt 16.0: ${side}`)

      //Absolute value of a negative float
      temperature <- -5.7
      magnitude <- abs temperature
      stdout.println(`abs -5.7: ${magnitude}`)

Common mistakes

E50001 — EK9 has no Math class; `Math.abs(negVal)` leaves 'Math' unresolved and triggers E50001 - use the 'abs' prefix operator: abs negVal. See ek9 -h E50001 for details.

Incorrect:

      positive <- Math.abs(negVal)

Correct:

      positive <- abs negVal

Other ways to ask this

I need to remove the sign from a negative number and compute a square root
In Java I'd use Math.abs() and Math.sqrt(). Write the EK9 equivalents
Given a negative integer and a float, apply abs and sqrt prefix operators
Compute absolute value and square root using EK9's unary prefix operators

Coming from another language?

Java: Math.abs(x), Math.sqrt(x). Python: abs(x), math.sqrt(x). Rust: x.abs(), x.sqrt(). EK9: abs x, sqrt x — prefix operators, not functions.

Keywords: absolute, sqrt, math, square root, prefix, abs, unary