Transformation Methods for Pi
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg22319] Transformation Methods for Pi
- From: sniff <sniff at home.com>
- Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 03:01:32 -0500 (EST)
- Organization: SBC Internet Services
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
In Mathematica 4, the usage of N[Pi,10000000] (with $MaxPrecision = Infinity) strongly suggests that the people at Wolfram Research are still not using the best way to calculate Pi. It is very slow. Are they still using a calculus based method (such as arctan functions) to compute this number? On my old NT system, 8,388,608 digits of Pi are calculated in 2,851 seconds when using compiled C code of a transformation method and FFT to speed up multiplications. Using Mathematica 4, I terminated the calculation after 17 hours. - It was still not done. Where can I find more information regarding Mathematica 4 and its way to compute Pi. GTO