Hello, I stepped on this problem in LO Calc, which I would consider a bug:
A formula like -A1^2 actually returns (-A1)^2.
To get the correct result I need to enter explicitly -1*A1^2
I think this is a bug, because exponentiation has to be done before multiplication.
(LO 6.4.7.2 ubuntu 20.04)
Why not =-(A1^2)?
Thanks for the link to the previous discussion/decision on this subject. I understand that there is some ambiguity to interpret the minus sign as multiplication by -1 or as part of the number. Or course, I fixed it as proposed by LeroyG - but one has to know.
… or as subtraction from 0? See how it’s not set in stone. The operator precedence is a matter of (local) convention (which is defined by the standard, and by the long-lasting industry settled behavior); it is mentioned in the help, so not much to add except the nice-to-implement automatic parentheses proposed there. Also note that in -1, the minus is not even an operator, but just a part of the number itself (there is a negative number stored; when shown, that negative number is shown using the minus). So there are three distinct meanings of minus, and the two of them (part of the negative number’s display, and unary minus applied to an expression) should be in sync to not cause much surprise, when -3^2 would be very different from -A1^2. Since you can’t tear the minus from the number in the negative number’s case, it has to be as it is.