PiCalc Readmer

*** PiCalc ***

Version:  v1.00
Author:   FONG Chee Keat (cheekeat@iname.com)
Homepage: Windows CE Conservatory (cecon.home.ml.org) 
Date:     25 April 1998


--- Description ---

Calculates pi anywhere from 1 to 20000 decimal places. 

Now why would anyone want to do that?

Here's one: 
Benchmarking!!! Check out how long your HPC's CPU takes to do pi to
1000 decimal places. Or you can run the PC version and see how your HPC compares
to it...

On my:
HP 320LX  	9.2 seconds
Cyrix P166+	0.8 seconds

However, keep in mind that CPU speed is only one of the many factors that 
contribute to the overall performance of your HPC. Others, such as speed of the
display, as often just as important.

Scientists have always made their supercomputers do pi. Now you can watch your HPC 
crank away at full steam for half-an-hour or more!!! Heeheehee...

After entering the number of decimal places required - the program starts cranking.
As it runs, the program displays the time elapsed, as well as the number of terms 
calculated. The program will stop when it has reached the required accuracy.

Once the calculation has completed, you can view the results or save it to a text 
file.

Note that the last few digits of the calculation are usually not accurate due to
rounding errors; for example, if you want pi to 1000 decimal places, make PiCalc 
do 1005, and throw away the last 5 digits.

I do not guarantee the accuracy of pi generated by this program; however the first
200 or so places look correct to me :)

--- Usage Notes ---

To install, simply unzip the file, and copy the executable directly into your 
H/PC. There is no setup program. Do not run the executable on your desktop PC!

The program uses only integer math (i.e. no floating point) in its calculations.

The formula used to calculate pi is based on some trigonometric series expansion
with an infinite number of terms. It's not the most efficient way to calculate pi,
but it's certainly not the worst either.

The number of terms needed is approximately:
No. of terms (approx) = No. of digits x 1.6


--- What's New ---

Nothing yet

--- Disclaimer ---

Use this software at your own risk. By doing so, you agree that I will not be 
held responsible for any damages, either directly or indirectly, resulting from 
the use of this software. This includes but is not limited to - screwing up of 
data, cold-booting the unit, meltdown or incineration of the user's H/PC, 
loss of life or the use of one or more limbs or senses.