abs()

(Macro) computes the absolute value of a number.

Syntax

abs(x)

Parameters

x: the number.

Returns

x: if x is greater than or equal to 0.

-x: if x is less than 0.

Warning

Because of the way abs() is implemented, avoid using other functions or causing side effects inside the parentheses, as it may lead to incorrect results:

abs(a++);   // avoid this - yields incorrect results

abs(a);       // use this instead -
a++;          // keep other operations outside abs()

Arduino Compatibility

Maple’s implementation of abs() is compatible with Arduino.

License and Attribution

Portions of this page were adapted from the Arduino Reference Documentation, which is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.