ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition

Math.random() Method

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Description

The pow( ) method can be used to raise any number to any power. If exponent is negative,

pow( ) returns 1 / (

base

abs(exponent)

). If exponent is a fraction, pow( ) can be used to take the

square root or cube root, and so on, of a number (in which case it returns the positive root,

although, mathematically, there may also be a negative root).

Example

Math.pow(5, 2); // Returns 25 (5 squared)

Math.pow(5, 3); // Returns 125 (5 cubed)

Math.pow(5, -2); // Returns 0.04 (1 divided by 25)

Math.pow(8, 1/3); // Returns 2 (cube root of 8)

Math.pow(9, 1/2); // Returns 3 (square root of 9)

Math.pow(10, 6); // Returns 1000000 (can also be written as 1e6)

Bugs

Flash Player 5.0.30.0 did not correctly calculate Math.pow( ) for negative values of base. For

example, Math.pow(–2, 2) was calculated as

NaN, whereas it should be 4. This was fixed in

Flash Player 6.

See Also

Math.exp( ), Math.sqrt( ), Math.SQRT2, Math.SQRT1_2

Math.random() Method

generate a random number from 0 to 1.0

Flash 5; can be used when exporting Flash 4 movies

Math.random()

Returns

A floating-point number greater than or equal to 0.0 and less than 1.0.

Description

The random( ) method provides a way to produce random numbers, which can then be

used to choose randomly between actions ...