Pounds, Shillings, Pence
April 7, 2015
Mixed-radix number systems have a base, or radix, that varies at each position. For instance, the old-style British pounds, shillings and pence form a mixed-radix system where there are twelve pence in a shilling and twenty shillings in a pound, and calendars form a mixed-radix system where there are sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, twenty-four hours in a day, and seven days in a week.
Your task is to write a program that accepts a definition of a mixed-radix system — for instance, (7 24 60 60) for the calendar mentioned above — and performs addition and subtraction of numbers written in that system. When you are finished, you are welcome to read or run a suggested solution, or to post your own solution or discuss the exercise in the comments below.