created by Edward Hobbs
Caesar has proclaimed Computer
Romanus to be the official calculator of the Roman
Empire. You now have at your disposal the latest in high technology to assist in
all manner of numerical problems. Yes, whether you're building a road, designing an
aquaduct, or counting your gladiators, Computer Romanus will make the job easier.
|
From time to time, you may notice a blinking
number in the calculator display;
this is an error code caused by a barbarian performing an invalid operation.
Here is a table of the error codes along with their meanings:
|
| I |
Indicates an overflow condition. An operation has resulted in a quantity
greater than the largest number that exists
(
).
|
| II |
Indicates an underflow condition. An operation has resulted in a quantity
smaller than the smallest number that exists (I).
|
| III |
Indicates that the user has entered an invalid sequence of numerals.
|
To clear the error, press the key with the small "c" on it. Repeated errors will
result in the user being thrown to the lions.
|
The following table gives the valves of the various
numerals. When a bar
appears above a numeral, its valve is increased a thousandfold.
|
| Numeral |
Valve |
With Bar |
| I |
One |
(Invalid) |
| V |
Five |
Five thousand |
| X |
Ten |
Ten thousand |
| L |
Fifty |
Fifty thousand |
| C |
One hundred |
One hundred
thousand |
| D |
Five hundred |
Five hundred
thousand |
| M |
One thousand |
One million |
Use the following
guidelines to construct and evaluate quantites expressed in Roman Numerals:
|
| I |
Generally speaking, smaller numerals follow larger numerals (see rule III below).
In such cases, add up the valves of the numerals to determine the quantity represented.
|
| II |
Numerals which are powers of ten (I, X, C, etc.) can be repeated
up to three times
in a row; other numerals cannot be repeated.
|
| III |
In certain cases, a smaller numeral may precede a larger one. Evaluate these expressions
by subtracting the smaller numeral from the larger one. A smaller numeral
can be placed
before a larger one only if ALL of the following conditions are met:
|
| -- |
The smaller numeral must be a power of ten.
|
| -- |
The smaller numeral must be either one-fifth or one-tenth the valve of the larger one.
|
| -- |
The smaller numeral must either be the first numeral in the expression,
or be preceded by a numeral of at least ten times its valve.
|
| -- |
If another numeral follows the larger numeral, it must be smaller than the one that
precedes the larger numeral. |
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