* _ _ _ ASTERISK _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ operator

The * operator is a prefix or infix n-ary multiplication operator.

syntax:

or *(<expression> {,<expression>}+)

<expression> may be any valid REDUCE expression.

examples:

15*3; 

  45 


24*x*yvalue*2; 

  48*X*YVALUE 


*(6,x); 

  6*X 


on rounded; 

3*1.5*x*x*x; 

       3
  4.5*X  


off rounded; 

2x**2; 

     2
  2*X

REDUCE assumes you are using an implicit multiplication operator w hen an identifier is preceded by a number, as shown in the last line above. Since no valid identifiers can begin with numbers, there is no ambiguity in making this assumption.

The multiplication operator is also valid with matrix expressions of the proper dimensions: matrices A and B can be multiplied if A is n x m and B is m x p. Matrices and equations can also be multiplied by scalars: the result is as if each element was multiplied by the scalar.