.\" Copyright (c) 1985, 1991 Regents of the University of California. .\" All rights reserved. .\" .\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without .\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions .\" are met: .\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. .\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the .\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. .\" 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software .\" must display the following acknowledgement: .\" This product includes software developed by the University of .\" California, Berkeley and its contributors. .\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors .\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software .\" without specific prior written permission. .\" .\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND .\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE .\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE .\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE .\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL .\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS .\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) .\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT .\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY .\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF .\" SUCH DAMAGE. .\" .\" from: @(#)lgamma.3 6.6 (Berkeley) 12/3/92 .\" $Id: lgamma.3,v 1.1.1.1 1994/08/19 09:39:42 jkh Exp $ .\" .Dd December 3, 1992 .Dt LGAMMA 3 .Os BSD 4.3 .Sh NAME .Nm lgamma , .Nm lgammaf , .Nm gamma , .Nm gammaf .Nd log gamma functions, gamma functions .Sh SYNOPSIS .Fd #include .Ft extern int .Fa signgam ; .sp .Ft double .Fn lgamma "double x" .Ft float .Fn lgammaf "float x" .Ft double .Fn gamma "double x" .Ft float .Fn gamma "float x" .Sh DESCRIPTION .Fn lgamma x and .Fn lgammaf x .if t \{\ return ln\||\(*G(x)| where .Bd -unfilled -offset indent \(*G(x) = \(is\d\s8\z0\s10\u\u\s8\(if\s10\d t\u\s8x\-1\s10\d e\u\s8\-t\s10\d dt for x > 0 and .br \(*G(x) = \(*p/(\(*G(1\-x)\|sin(\(*px)) for x < 1. .Ed .\} .if n \ returns ln\||\(*G(x)|. .Pp The external integer .Fa signgam returns the sign of \(*G(x). .Pp .Fn gamma x and .Fn gammaf x return \(*G(x), with no effect on .Fa signgam . .Sh IDIOSYNCRASIES Do not use the expression .Dq Li signgam\(**exp(lgamma(x)) to compute g := \(*G(x). Instead use a program like this (in C): .Bd -literal -offset indent lg = lgamma(x); g = signgam\(**exp(lg); .Ed .Pp Only after .Fn lgamma or .Fn lgammaf has returned can signgam be correct. .Pp For arguments in its range, .Fn gamma and .Fn gammaf is preferred, as for positive arguments it is accurate to within one unit in the last place. Exponentiation of .Fn lgamma will lose up to 10 significant bits. .Sh RETURN VALUES .Fn gamma , .Fn gammaf , .Fn lgamma , and .Fn lgammaf return appropriate values unless an argument is out of range. Overflow will occur for sufficiently large positive values, and non-positive integers. On the .Tn VAX, the reserved operator is returned, and .Va errno is set to .Er ERANGE For large non-integer negative values, .Fn gamma will underflow. .Sh SEE ALSO .Xr math 3 , .Xr infnan 3 .Sh HISTORY The .Nm lgamma function appeared in .Bx 4.3 . The .Nm gamma function appeared in .Bx 4.4 . The name .Fn gamma was originally dedicated to the .Fn lgamma function, so some old code may no longer be compatible.