Electronic Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate MathematicsSan Francisco, California, November 4-7, 1999Paper P012Microsoft COM for Complex Variables |
G. Boyd SwartzDepartment of Mathematics Monmouth University W. Long Branch, NJ 07724 USA swartz@monmouth.edu list of all papers by this author |
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ABSTRACT
Complex numbers are composed of two real quantities. Arithmetical operations on such manipulate the two and produce results using real arithmetic. We usually program this one quantity at a time. However in a course focused on Complex Variables this is unproductive work for the participants. We create for them a component that allows reference to a complex number and its arithmetic by normal programming constructions. The technology that allows us to do this with ease is the Microsoft COM technology for encapsulating a data structure and its operations in a programming unit that can be referenced in a program. The component is used in Visual Basic Application (VBA is the macro language for Excel) to compute the complex output of a bandpass filter and to plot the output.Keyword(s): complex variables, spreadsheets, programming