So if the code to compute in binary is sound, then there can't possibly be anything wrong with the decimal side of the coding? Wow, you must have dozens of ready replies to throw off your clients. 'Well, I understand the Print under the main menu is not working but if you'll hit your print screen key and paste that into Paint, and then print from there, you'll see the printing routines are working spot on.'

"I don't really care whether it's logically right or wrong the fact is its wrong but because of a rounding error NOT a bug and that error is so small that here in the real world where I live it will never matter." So if it isn't a bug, (the code being correct), where does the rounding error come from? Must be those damn wood elves fiddling with my computer again. Sounds like a pre-scripted response you came up with to throw off clients questioning your shoddy coding.

In this particular instance any answer other than -4 or 0 is inaccurate. Doesn't matter that most of us understand that anything ^-39 power is so small as to be considered zero by most, it's still not zero. Understandably the answer they factored was 1.9999...8164whatever but its funny that the calculator rounded up, then 'forgot' that it did so. Sounds like sloppy programming. What's really funny is change it to the scientific calculator, do 4^.5 power then -2 and it gives a different answer.

I'm exactly the same. Some shortcuts I use. Most of the time I just use the menu. I make maps in Hammer for Valve games and every time I see the list of 100+ keyboard shortcuts I laugh. To use those things efficiently you have to memorize them and I've always been one to keep on doing the fun stuff like coding and editing rather than stop to learn them. My first OS was MSDOS 1.0 in '83 and I too said, 'Wow, this is just like that old stuff I used to use' when I first saw Unix in '96.

Grats! I found my way into programming in the same manner. Needed a database program to replace Quickbooks. Took about six months of playing around but the time spent has definitely paid off:)