math.fractional-power
Raise a positive decimal to a fractional power, (1.199)^(31/365), identically in every language.
1.0.0 · published 2026-10-03 by charlie · Anterra
Pinned by 19 tests, run in TypeScript, Python and Rust.
What it does
Raises a positive decimal to a rational power, x^(p/q), and gets the same digits in TypeScript, Python and Rust. Finance needs this wherever a rate is compounded over part of a year: the consumer-credit APR and early-settlement formulas raise (1 + APR) to the power "days / 365", and a monthly factor is (1 + APR)^(1/12). Those are irrational numbers, so no exact answer exists; floating-point `Math.pow`, `**` and `powf` do not promise the same last digit on every platform, and a settlement figure must not depend on the platform.
## How it is computed
For example
fractional_power(1.1, 2, 1)→ 1.210000000000 a whole power that is exact in decimalfractional_power(2, 1, 2)→ 1.414213562373 square root of twofractional_power(1.199, 1, 12)→ 1.015238935953 monthly factor of a 19.9% annual rate
The function
The same function in TypeScript, Python and Rust, pinned by the same tests. Pick your language; the choice follows you around the registry.
pub fn fractional_power(base: &str, exponent_numerator: i64, exponent_denominator: i64) -> String
| base | string | a positive decimal, at most 18 places: "1.199" |
| exponent_numerator | int | -100000 to 100000; negative gives the reciprocal |
| exponent_denominator | int | 1 to 100000; the root taken |
| returns | string | the result to 12 decimal places, half-up, e.g. "1.015521428741" |
Your code names it in one line, in the file that uses it
fune!(math.fractional-power@^1); // then call fractional_power(…)
Imports name this capability’s declared dependencies, which fune builds next to it in your project; each one links to its page.
use super::funejson::Value; ← the fune runtime: the JSON value the test vectors use; fune build keeps it only where a signature takes one
use super::math_big_integer::{parse_big_integer, BigInt}; ← from math.big-integer ^1.0.0 · built alongside by fune
/// Intermediate values beyond 2^512 (about 10^136 after scaling) are refused.
const MAX_BITS: u64 = 512;
/// Every value is held as an integer count of 10^-18.
pub fn fixed_scale() -> BigInt {
BigInt::from_i64(1_000_000_000_000_000_000)
}
fn too_large(value: &BigInt) -> bool {
value.bit_length() > MAX_BITS
}
/// Product of two non-negative fixed-point values, floored.
pub fn mul_fixed(a: &BigInt, b: &BigInt) -> BigInt {
// Dividing by 10^9 twice floors exactly as dividing by 10^18 once does.
a.mul(b).div_rem_small(1_000_000_000).0.div_rem_small(1_000_000_000).0
}
/// x^n for a non-negative fixed-point x, by square-and-multiply from the
/// lowest bit, flooring after every product. The order of operations is part
/// of the contract: it is what makes TypeScript, Python and Rust agree to the
/// last digit. Returns bound + 1 as soon as the result must exceed `bound`
/// (x >= 1 only grows), so a bisection never builds an astronomically large
/// number.
///
/// # Panics
/// Panics if an intermediate value passes 2^512.
pub fn pow_fixed_bounded(x: &BigInt, n: u64, bound: Option<&BigInt>) -> BigInt {
let scale = fixed_scale();
let grows = *x >= scale;
let mut result = scale.clone();
let mut base = x.clone();
let mut e = n;
while e > 0 {
if e % 2 == 1 {
result = mul_fixed(&result, &base);
if let Some(b) = bound {
if grows && result > *b {
return b.add(&BigInt::from_i64(1));
}
}
}
e /= 2;
if e > 0 {
base = mul_fixed(&base, &base);
if let Some(b) = bound {
if grows && base > *b {
return b.add(&BigInt::from_i64(1));
}
}
if too_large(&base) {
panic!("fractional power result too large");
}
}
}
if too_large(&result) {
panic!("fractional power result too large");
}
result
}
/// x^n in fixed point.
pub fn pow_fixed(x: &BigInt, n: u64) -> BigInt {
pow_fixed_bounded(x, n, None)
}
/// The q-th root of x in fixed point: the largest y with pow_fixed(y, q) <= x,
/// found by bisection.
pub fn root_fixed(x: &BigInt, q: u64) -> BigInt {
if q == 1 {
return x.clone();
}
let scale = fixed_scale();
let one = BigInt::from_i64(1);
let two = BigInt::from_i64(2);
let mut lo = BigInt::zero();
// For x >= 1, (1 + (x - 1)/q)^q >= x (Bernoulli), so the root is below it.
let mut hi = if *x >= scale {
scale.add(&x.sub(&scale).div(&BigInt::from_i64(q as i64))).add(&two)
} else {
scale.add(&one)
};
while hi.sub(&lo) > one {
let mid = lo.add(&hi).div(&two);
if pow_fixed_bounded(&mid, q, Some(x)) <= *x {
lo = mid;
} else {
hi = mid;
}
}
lo
}
/// x^(p/q) in fixed point: the q-th root first, then the power, then the
/// reciprocal if p < 0.
///
/// # Panics
/// Panics on an exponent out of range, a base of zero or less, or a result
/// too large to hold.
pub fn fractional_power_fixed(x: &BigInt, p: i64, q: i64) -> BigInt {
if p < -100000 || p > 100000 {
panic!("exponentNumerator must be between -100000 and 100000, received {}", p);
}
if q < 1 || q > 100000 {
panic!("exponentDenominator must be between 1 and 100000, received {}", q);
}
if *x <= BigInt::zero() {
panic!("base must be greater than zero");
}
let root = root_fixed(x, q as u64);
if p >= 0 {
return pow_fixed(&root, p as u64);
}
let denominator = pow_fixed(&root, (-p) as u64);
if denominator.is_zero() {
panic!("fractional power result too large");
}
let scale = fixed_scale();
let result = scale.mul(&scale).div(&denominator);
if too_large(&result) {
panic!("fractional power result too large");
}
result
}
/// Parse a non-negative decimal of at most 18 places into fixed point.
///
/// # Panics
/// Panics on anything else.
pub fn parse_fixed(text: &str) -> BigInt {
let (whole, fraction) = match text.split_once('.') {
Some((w, f)) => (w, Some(f)),
None => (text, None),
};
let valid = !whole.is_empty()
&& whole.bytes().all(|b| b.is_ascii_digit())
&& match fraction {
None => true,
Some(f) => !f.is_empty() && f.len() <= 18 && f.bytes().all(|b| b.is_ascii_digit()),
};
if !valid {
panic!(
"base must be a positive decimal with at most 18 places, received \"{}\"",
text
);
}
let mut digits = whole.trim_start_matches('0').to_string();
let mut padded = fraction.unwrap_or("").to_string();
while padded.len() < 18 {
padded.push('0');
}
digits.push_str(&padded);
let digits = digits.trim_start_matches('0');
if digits.is_empty() {
return BigInt::zero();
}
parse_big_integer(digits)
}
/// base^(exponent_numerator / exponent_denominator), to 12 decimal places.
///
/// Computed in 18-place fixed point with a floor after every step, then
/// rounded half-up to 12 places, so the last digit printed is right unless the
/// true value sits within about 10^-15 of a rounding boundary.
pub fn fractional_power(base: &str, exponent_numerator: i64, exponent_denominator: i64) -> String {
let x = parse_fixed(base);
let value = fractional_power_fixed(&x, exponent_numerator, exponent_denominator);
let (rounded, _) = value.add(&BigInt::from_i64(500_000)).div_rem_small(1_000_000);
let (whole, fraction) = rounded.div_rem(&BigInt::from_i64(1_000_000_000_000));
format!("{}.{:012}", whole, fraction.to_i64())
}
pub fn fune_vector(args: &[Value]) -> Value {
Value::str(&fractional_power(
args[0].as_str(),
args[1].as_i64(),
args[2].as_i64(),
))
}Install
fune build
With that line in your source, in a Rust project (language rust in fune.project), fune build resolves it and its 1 dependency, pins them in fune.lock, downloads only the Rust package of each, and builds the code above into your project’s .fune/build, one readable file per capability with a header linking back here. A crate’s build.rs runs it before every compile. Or pin a range in fune.project and build in one step:
fune add math.fractional-power
The manifest, vectors and README with only the Rust implementation. Install it without the registry with fune add ./math.fractional-power-1.0.0-rust.fune, or fetch it from a terminal with fune pull math.fractional-power@1.0.0:rust.
The whole function, every language, is one file too: math.fractional-power-1.0.0.fune, 22,168 bytes, sha256 0066bd743f23291b72f2b4086147d1571e046c6c0b3849aa079fa868ff3e143c. It installs into a project of any language.
Customise it in your app
The seams this capability offers. Put a marker directly above a function of your own and fune build wires it into the built code; the package on the registry is not changed, the built file’s header lists it under CUSTOMISED, and fune hooks lists every hook in the project. How hooks work.
before — your function gets the arguments and returns them, changed or not, or throws to refuse the call.
// fune: before math.fractional-power
after — your function gets the result and the arguments, and returns the final result.
// fune: after math.fractional-power
replace — inside this capability’s code only, calls to a dependency go to your function, with the same signature. Other capabilities that use it are unaffected; write in * to replace it everywhere.
// fune: replace math.big-integer in math.fractional-power
step — your function runs at a numbered point inside the function’s body, receives the in-scope values it names as parameters, and may return replacements. List the points with fune show math.fractional-power --steps.
// fune: step math.fractional-power after <n|label>
Tests
A version published now needs at least 8 tests for every function, and one that expects the error for each function that throws; the registry refuses it otherwise. fune verify --all runs each case in TypeScript, Python and Rust, and a project runs them again with fune verify. This page lists the cases; it does not run them. The exact JSON is vectors.json.
| Case | Arguments | Expected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| a whole power that is exact in decimal | 1.1, 2, 1 | → | 1.210000000000 |
| square root of two | 2, 1, 2 | → | 1.414213562373 |
| monthly factor of a 19.9% annual rate | 1.199, 1, 12 | → | 1.015238935953 |
| 31 days of a 19.9% APR on a 365-day year | 1.199, 31, 365 | → | 1.015533447820 |
| a negative exponent discounts: 1/1.05^10 | 1.05, -10, 1 | → | 0.613913253541 |
| three halves power | 1.5, 3, 2 | → | 1.837117307087 |
| a root of a number below one | 0.5, 1, 3 | → | 0.793700525984 |
| one to any power is one | 1, 7, 365 | → | 1.000000000000 |
| reciprocal of ten | 10, -1, 1 | → | 0.100000000000 |
| 30 years of monthly compounding at 5.4% | 1.0045, 360, 1 | → | 5.034760199014 |
Show the other 9 tests
| Case | Arguments | Expected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| a payday-style 1000% APR over 30 days | 11, 30, 365 | → | 1.217850333327 |
| a base with the full 18 decimal places | 1.000000000000000001, 1,000, 1 | → | 1.000000000000 |
| fraction not in lowest terms gives the same answer | 1.199, 62, 730 | → | 1.015533447820 |
| zero base is refused | 0, 1, 2 | → | error: base must be greater than zero |
| a negative base is refused | -1, 1, 1 | → | error: base must be a positive decimal with at most 18 places |
| more than 18 decimal places is refused | 1.1234567890123456789, 1, 1 | → | error: base must be a positive decimal with at most 18 places |
| exponent denominator of zero | 2, 1, 0 | → | error: exponentDenominator must be between 1 and 100000 |
| exponent numerator out of range | 2, 100,001, 1 | → | error: exponentNumerator must be between -100000 and 100000 |
| a result beyond 2^512 is refused | 10, 200, 1 | → | error: fractional power result too large |
More from the author
Everything is an integer count of 10^-18 (18-place fixed point), and every step floors, in a fixed order, so the three languages agree bit for bit:
1. The q-th root: the largest y with y^q <= x, found by bisection. 2. The power: y^|p| by square-and-multiply from the lowest bit, flooring each product. 3. For a negative p, the reciprocal, floored.
The vectored function returns the result rounded half-up to 12 decimal places. Each floor loses under 10^-18, so the 12th place is right unless the true value lies within roughly 10^-15 of a rounding boundary. Exact powers that fit in 18 places come out exact: 1.1^2 is 1.21.
Other capabilities use the fixed-point pieces directly: `FIXED_SCALE`, `mulFixed`, `powFixed`, `powFixedBounded`, `rootFixed`, `fractionalPowerFixed` and `parseFixed` (snake_case in Python and Rust; the Rust versions take `math.big-integer`'s `BigInt`).
## Limits
- The base is a positive decimal with at most 18 places; zero and negatives are refused (a fractional power of a negative number is not real). - The exponent's numerator is -100000 to 100000 and its denominator 1 to 100000. The fraction need not be in lowest terms: 62/730 gives the same answer as 31/365 up to the floors, and in practice the same 12 places. - A value that would pass 2^512 in fixed point (about 10^136) is an error, not a slow computation.
Files
| Path | Bytes |
|---|---|
| README.md | 1,944 |
| impl/python.py | 4,248 |
| impl/rust.rs | 6,009 |
| impl/typescript.ts | 4,416 |
| vectors.json | 2,908 |