LONGPI is a program to calculate pi to any length, limited only by your computer's memory capacity. The program is run at the CLI using syntax longpi <#places>. An output file called ram:pi.out is created to collect the data, in addition to the CLI output on the screen. The program should work well with a math coproccesor.
Pi is a fascinating number, the calculation of which has occupied mathematicians for thousands of years. Euler first asked the question about the nature of the number. Is it a simple fraction? Can it be calculated as the root of an algebraic equation with a limited number of terms? In 1873 it was proven (107 years after Euler's question) that pi was transcendental. This means that not only is it not a simple fraction but that it can never be written as a solution to a finite algebraic equation. It must have an infinite number of terms in the equation used to calculate the number. The only other number proven to have this property, as of today, is e, the base of the natural logarithm.
The calculation of the decimals of pi over history gives an asymptotic curve. In 1593 to 9 places, 1596 to 35, 1705 to 72, 1706 to 100, 1719 to 127, 1794 to 140, 1844 to 200, 1855 to 500, 1874 to 707, 1946 to 620, and in 1947 pi was published to 808 places using a mechanical desk calculator. The first computer effort was the ENIAC that calculated pi to 2037 places over a 70 hour period. This machine took up an entire room. The amiga (without a math coprocessor) can do this in 23 minutes!
Anyway, have fun playing with this and think of all the people throughout history, from Archimedes on down, who would like to be looking over your shoulder!
