Setting the Stage: The Art of Mathematical Evaluation
Calculators, those nifty little devices that have saved us during countless math classes. But what if we could replicate that magic in software?
The idea is to build a "software calculator" that can evaluate mathematical expressions. Our goal is to evaluate expressions like 2 + 2 and (2+(4+2)-1)-(5+8) without using the built-in eval function in any language.
Why Skip the eval Function?
You might wonder, "If there's a built-in way to evaluate code strings, why not just use it?" Well, that's a great question! The eval function is quite handy, but it has its drawbacks:
- Security Risks: Using
evalcan expose your code to security vulnerabilities. - Limited Customization: What if you want to extend the calculator functionality? With
eval, you're stuck with what the language offers. - Learning Opportunity: Building our own calculator is an excellent exercise for understanding parsing and evaluation algorithms.
How eval Works, Anyway?
Just to give you an idea, if we were to use eval, you could evaluate an expression like this:
1console.log(eval("1+1"));