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Calling Sequence
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type(x, constant)
constants
constants := constants, y
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Parameters
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x
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any expression
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y
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a symbol
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Description
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The call type(x, constant) verifies whether x is a constant.
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The global variable constants is an expression sequence of all names which are initially known as symbolic constants in Maple. These are: false, gamma, infinity, true, Catalan, FAIL and Pi.
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The values undefined and Float(undefined) do not appear on this list because neither is a constant.
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The user can declare any symbol other than undefined to be a constant by appending it to constants. In order to make the evalf command evaluate such a constant to a floating-point number, define a procedure of the form `evalf/constant/y`, where y is the name of the constant. This process is described on the detailed evalf help page.
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The numeric constants in Maple are integers, fractions, floating-point numbers, and complex numbers whose real and imaginary parts are any of these types of numbers.
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The expression (-1)^(1/2) is implemented as Complex(1).
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More generally, a Maple expression is of type constant if it is an unevaluated function with all arguments of type constant, or a sum, product, or power with all operands of type constant.
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Additionally, the RootOf function can be a constant. This is determined by calling the indets command on it. Suppose r is of the form RootOf(...). If indets(r, name) only returns entries that occur in constants, then r is a constant, and otherwise it is not.
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Examples
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Here are two examples of RootOf calls, one a constant, the other not:
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| (16) |
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