Math expressions tool

The library enables you to write math expressions in a convenient way and evaluate them using variables.

Let's start with a simple example:

    Expression exp = Expression.compile("1 + 1");
    System.out.println(exp.calculate(Arguments.EMPTY)); // -> 2

And a more sophisticated example:

    double d = 2.0/3 - 1 + 1.0/3;
    System.out.println(d); // -> -5.551115123125783E-17 (Almost zero, but not zero)
    
    Expression expression = Expression.compile("2/3 - 1 + 1/3");
    System.out.println(expression.calculate(Arguments.EMPTY)); // -> 0 (Exactly zero!)

As you can see, using Expression we can do precise math calculations. It is possible because it processes numbers using the special class BigRational that represents fractions. So, the result of calculation is a BigRational number too:

    BigRational number = Expression.compile("5/7 + 7/5").calculate(Arguments.EMPTY);
    System.out.println(number); // -> 74/35

Likely you noticed that the method calculate() accepts a single argument. Its purpose is to provide calculation with values if your expression contains some variables. Actually, in most cases you should use variables. Variable values can be specified in different types. Have a look at the example below:

    BigRational totalDistance = Expression.compile("initDist + initSpeed * time + (acceleration * time^2) / 2")
        .calculate(Arguments.builder()
            .with("initDist", 100)
            .with("initSpeed", "10")
            .with("time", new BigDecimal(5))
            .with("acceleration", BigInteger.valueOf(2))
            .build()
        );
    System.out.println(totalDistance); // -> 175

And, some words about performance. All costly things like string parsing take place inside the compile() method. So, compiled expression is literally a function that takes the arguments and does math operations. We can explain it using the following pseudo code:

    Expression expression = Expression.compile("a ^ 2");
    
    // Under the hood the expression has:
    Function<BigRational, BigRational> func = a -> Math.pow(a, 2);

So, for the sake of performance, you can use Expression as a static field. Expression instances are reusable and thread-safe.

public class MyClass {
    private static final Expression EXPRESSION = Expression.compile("a + b");
    
    public BigRational evaluate(int a, int b) {
        return EXPRESSION.calculate(Arguments.builder()
            .with("a", a)
            .with("b", b)
            .build()
        );
    }
}

kutify/jexp

Math expressions tool