Trig functions across various programming languages

 

Unfortunately programming languages are inconsistent in how the support trig functions and their inverses. The table below summarizes how to call trig functions in several languages. Note that "C" means the C language itself but also a large number of other programming languages, like Python and JavaScript, that follow C's conventions.

 

Mathematica bc C NumPy Perl Math::Trig CL
Sin s sin sin sin - sin
Cos c cos cos cos - cos
Tan - tan tan - tan tan
Sec - - - - sec -
Csc - - - - csc -
Cot - - - - cot -
ArcSin - asin arcsin - asin asin
ArcCos - acos arccos - acos acos
ArcTan 1 arg a atan arctan - atan atan
ArcTan 2 arg - atan2 arctan2 atan2 atan2 atan
ArcSec - - - - asec -
ArcCsc - - - - acsc -
ArcCot - - - - acot -

 

This blog post goes through the table in detail. For example, it explains why Mathematica's ArcTan with two arguments doesn't always return the same value as C's atan2.

See also trig identities