> You seem to be coming at this from a programming standpoint, 
> and I'm not sure what point you're making. The rest of us are talking 
> about the mathematical convention, which is that the symbol 
> "sqrt(x)" means the positive square root of x, when x is a 
> positive real number. 


> Mathematical libraries follow this convention. So far as I know, 
> sqrt(x) always returns a single positive value when x is 
> positive. 

x = 3-5. 
The symbol x means the positive value of -2, when -2 is a positive real 
number. 
Mathematical libraries follow this convention. So far as YOU know, x always 
returns a single positive value when x is positive. 
If we want negative x, we MUST write -x by the logic of Van de merde. Hence: 
-x = 3-5. 
Happy now? 
Dumb and dumber.... 
Dig yourself a deeper pit, you blind cunt, I'll bury you with Van de merde. 
Two turds with one shovel. 
Norbert.