Method for evaluating math expressions in Java

Question

In one of my projects I want to add a feature where the user can provide in a formula, for example

sin (x + pi)/2 + 1

which I use in my Java app

/**
 * The formula provided by the user
 */
private String formula; // = "sin (x + pi)/2 + 1"

/*
 * Evaluates the formula and computes the result by using the
 * given value for x
 */
public double calc(double x) {
    Formula f = new Formula(formula);
    f.setVar("x", x);
    return f.calc();
    // or something similar
}

How can I evaluate math expressions?

Answer 1

There's also exp4j, an expression evaluator based on Dijkstra's Shunting Yard. It's freely available and redistributable under the Apache License 2.0, only about 25KB in size, and quite easy to use:

Calculable calc = new ExpressionBuilder("3 * sin(y) - 2 / (x - 2)")
        .withVariable("x", varX)
        .withVariable("y", varY)
        .build()
double result1=calc.calculate();

When using a newer API version like 0.4.8:

Expression calc = new ExpressionBuilder("3 * sin(y) - 2 / (x - 2)")
    .variable("x", x)
    .variable("y", y)
    .build();
double result1 = calc.evaluate();

There's also a facility to use custom functions in exp4j.