PowerShell:
Working with complex numbers
How to:
PowerShell doesn’t have built-in complex number support, so you either roll your own solution or use .NET’s System.Numerics.Complex.
# Let's make complex numbers using .NET
[Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.Numerics") | Out-Null
# Create complex numbers
$complex1 = [System.Numerics.Complex]::new(3, 4) # 3 + 4i
$complex2 = [System.Numerics.Complex]::new(1, 2) # 1 + 2i
# Add two complex numbers
$sum = [System.Numerics.Complex]::Add($complex1, $complex2) # 4 + 6i
# Multiply two complex numbers
$product = [System.Numerics.Complex]::Multiply($complex1, $complex2) # -5 + 10i
# Display the results
"Sum: $sum"
"Product: $product"Output:
Sum: (4, 6)
Product: (-5, 10)Deep Dive
Complex numbers were developed in the 16th century to solve equations that didn’t have solutions in the realm of real numbers. They’re now a cornerstone of modern mathematics.
PowerShell’s reliance on .NET for complex number support means performance is solid. Alternatives include third-party libraries or other programming languages like Python, where complex numbers are a native data type.