Node:Complex numbers, Next:Precision, Previous:Data Types and Files, Up:Data Types and Files

#### 4.1.1 Complex numbers

The default FFTW interface uses `double` precision for all floating-point numbers, and defines a `fftw_complex` type to hold complex numbers as:

    typedef double fftw_complex[2];

Here, the `[0]` element holds the real part and the `[1]` element holds the imaginary part.

Alternatively, if you have a C compiler (such as `gcc`) that supports the C99 revision of the ANSI C standard, you can use C's new native complex type (which is binary-compatible with the typedef above). In particular, if you `#include <complex.h>` before `<fftw3.h>`, then `fftw_complex` is defined to be the native complex type and you can manipulate it with ordinary arithmetic (e.g. `x = y * (3+4*I)`, where `x` and `y` are `fftw_complex` and `I` is the standard symbol for the imaginary unit);

C++ has its own `complex<T>` template class, defined in the standard `<complex>` header file. Reportedly, the C++ standards committee has recently agreed to mandate that the storage format used for this type be binary-compatible with the C99 type, i.e. an array `T[2]` with consecutive real `[0]` and imaginary `[1]` parts. (See report WG21/N1388.) Although not part of the official standard as of this writing, the proposal stated that: "This solution has been tested with all current major implementations of the standard library and shown to be working." To the extent that this is true, if you have a variable `complex<double> *x`, you can pass it directly to FFTW via `reinterpret_cast<fftw_complex*>(x)`.