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Output format for polynomials

All the ALG48 commands output polynomials in expanded canonical form. In the polynomials the terms are arranged into descending order of their degrees, and the ``variables'' in the terms are arranged in lexicographic order, with the true variables (global and local names) first, followed by the non-rational subexpressions. E.g.,

displaymath1660

Sometimes, however, this output format may not be the most appropriate. In some cases a different order for the variables or a ``recursive'' format, where one or several variables are considered ``main'' variables and the others are treated as coefficient, may be preferable. The command RORD in ALG48 let you simplify and ``re-order'' polynomials in such ways.

The command RORD takes two arguments, viz., the symbolic expression to simplify and a main variable or list of main variables. The output polynomial will be expanded with respect to the main variable(s), while the remaining variables will be treated as coefficients. In addition, the order of the variables in the list will be used in the output. The following examples illustrate different possible outputs of RORD on a particular polynomial.

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Claude-Nicolas Fiechter (fiechter@cs.pitt.edu), 12 May 1998