Roots of a function

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Roots of a function is a programming task. Visitors like you are encouraged to solve it according to the task description, using any language they may happen to know.
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Create a program that finds and outputs the roots of a given function, range and (if applicable) step width. The program should identify whether the root is exact or approximate.

For this example, use f(x)=x3-3x2+2x.

Contents

[edit] Ada

with Ada.Text_Io; use Ada.Text_Io;
 
procedure Roots_Of_Function is
package Real_Io is new Ada.Text_Io.Float_Io(Long_Float);
use Real_Io;
 
function F(X : Long_Float) return Long_Float is
begin
return (X**3 - 3.0*X*X + 2.0*X);
end F;
 
Step  : constant Long_Float := 1.0E-6;
Start : constant Long_Float := -1.0;
Stop  : constant Long_Float := 3.0;
Value : Long_Float := F(Start);
Sign  : Boolean := Value > 0.0;
X  : Long_Float := Start + Step;
 
begin
if Value = 0.0 then
Put("Root found at ");
Put(Item => Start, Fore => 1, Aft => 6, Exp => 0);
New_Line;
end if;
while X <= Stop loop
Value := F(X);
if (Value > 0.0) /= Sign then
Put("Root found near ");
Put(Item => X, Fore => 1, Aft => 6, Exp => 0);
New_Line;
elsif Value = 0.0 then
Put("Root found at ");
Put(Item => X, Fore => 1, Aft => 6, Exp => 0);
New_Line;
end if;
Sign := Value > 0.0;
X := X + Step;
end loop;
end Roots_Of_Function;

[edit] ALGOL 68

Finding 3 roots using the secant method:

MODE DBL = LONG REAL;
FORMAT dbl = $g(-long real width, long real width-6, -2)$;
 
MODE XY = STRUCT(DBL x, y);
FORMAT xy root = $f(dbl)" ("b("Exactly", "Approximately")")"$;
 
MODE DBLOPT = UNION(DBL, VOID);
MODE XYRES = UNION(XY, VOID);
 
PROC find root = (PROC (DBL)DBL f, DBLOPT in x1, in x2, in x error, in y error)XYRES:(
INT limit = ENTIER (long real width / log(2)); # worst case of a binary search) #
DBL x1 := (in x1|(DBL x1):x1|-5.0), # if x1 is EMPTY then -5.0 #
x2 := (in x2|(DBL x2):x2|+5.0),
x error := (in x error|(DBL x error):x error|small real),
y error := (in y error|(DBL y error):y error|small real);
DBL y1 := f(x1), y2;
DBL dx := x1 - x2, dy;
 
IF y1 = 0 THEN
XY(x1, y1) # we already have a solution! #
ELSE
FOR i WHILE
y2 := f(x2);
IF y2 = 0 THEN stop iteration FI;
IF i = limit THEN value error FI;
IF y1 = y2 THEN value error FI;
dy := y1 - y2;
dx := dx / dy * y2;
x1 := x2; y1 := y2; # retain for next iteration #
x2 -:= dx;
# WHILE # ABS dx > x error AND ABS dy > y error DO
SKIP
OD;
stop iteration:
XY(x2, y2) EXIT
value error:
EMPTY
FI
);
 
PROC f = (DBL x)DBL: x UP 3 - LONG 3.1 * x UP 2 + LONG 2.0 * x;
 
DBL first root, second root, third root;
 
XYRES first result = find root(f, LENG -1.0, LENG 3.0, EMPTY, EMPTY);
CASE first result IN
(XY first result): (
printf(($"1st root found at x = "f(xy root)l$, x OF first result, y OF first result=0));
first root := x OF first result
)
OUT printf($"No first root found"l$); stop
ESAC;
 
XYRES second result = find root( (DBL x)DBL: f(x) / (x - first root), EMPTY, EMPTY, EMPTY, EMPTY);
CASE second result IN
(XY second result): (
printf(($"2nd root found at x = "f(xy root)l$, x OF second result, y OF second result=0));
second root := x OF second result
)
OUT printf($"No second root found"l$); stop
ESAC;
 
XYRES third result = find root( (DBL x)DBL: f(x) / (x - first root) / ( x - second root ), EMPTY, EMPTY, EMPTY, EMPTY);
CASE third result IN
(XY third result): (
printf(($"3rd root found at x = "f(xy root)l$, x OF third result, y OF third result=0));
third root := x OF third result
)
OUT printf($"No third root found"l$); stop
ESAC
Output:
1st root found at x =  9.1557112297752398099031e-1 (Approximately)
2nd root found at x = 2.1844288770224760190097e 0 (Approximately)
3rd root found at x = 0.0000000000000000000000e 0 (Exactly)

[edit] AutoHotkey

Poly(x) is a test function of one variable.
We search for its roots. roots() searches for intervals within given limits, shifted by a given “step”, where our function has different
signs at the endpoints. Having found such an interval, the root() function searches for
a value where our function is 0, within a given tolerance.
It also sets ErrorLevel to info about the root found.
ahk discussion

MsgBox % roots("poly", -0.99, 2, 0.1, 1.0e-5)
MsgBox % roots("poly", -1, 3, 0.1, 1.0e-5)
 
roots(f,x1,x2,step,tol) { ; search for roots in intervals of length "step", within tolerance "tol"
x := x1, y := %f%(x), s := (y>0)-(y<0)
Loop % ceil((x2-x1)/step) {
x += step, y := %f%(x), t := (y>0)-(y<0)
If (s=0 || s!=t)
res .= root(f, x-step, x, tol) " [" ErrorLevel "]`n"
s := t
}
Sort res, UN ; remove duplicate endpoints
Return res
}
 
root(f,x1,x2,d) { ; find x in [x1,x2]: f(x)=0 within tolerance d, by bisection
If (!y1 := %f%(x1))
Return x1, ErrorLevel := "Exact"
If (!y2 := %f%(x2))
Return x2, ErrorLevel := "Exact"
If (y1*y2>0)
Return "", ErrorLevel := "Need different sign ends!"
Loop {
x := (x2+x1)/2, y := %f%(x)
If (y = 0 || x2-x1 < d)
Return x, ErrorLevel := y ? "Approximate" : "Exact"
If ((y>0) = (y1>0))
x1 := x, y1 := y
Else
x2 := x, y2 := y
}
}
 
poly(x) {
Return ((x-3)*x+2)*x
}

[edit] C

Step & check until close, then use Secant method.

#include <math.h>
#include <stdio.h>
 
double f(double x)
{
return x*x*x-3.0*x*x +2.0*x;
}
 
double secant( double xA, double xB, double(*f)(double) )
{
double e = 1.0e-12;
double fA, fB;
double d;
int i;
int limit = 50;
 
fA=(*f)(xA);
for (i=0; i<limit; i++) {
fB=(*f)(xB);
d = (xB - xA) / (fB - fA) * fB;
if (fabs(d) < e)
break;
xA = xB;
fA = fB;
xB -= d;
}
if (i==limit) {
printf("Function is not converging near (%7.4f,%7.4f).\n", xA,xB);
return -99.0;
}
return xB;
}
 
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
double step = 1.0e-2;
double e = 1.0e-12;
double x = -1.032; // just so we use secant method
double xx, value;
 
int s = (f(x)> 0.0);
 
while (x < 3.0) {
value = f(x);
if (fabs(value) < e) {
printf("Root found at x= %12.9f\n", x);
s = (f(x+.0001)>0.0);
}
else if ((value > 0.0) != s) {
xx = secant(x-step, x,&f);
if (xx != -99.0) // -99 meaning secand method failed
printf("Root found at x= %12.9f\n", xx);
else
printf("Root found near x= %7.4f\n", x);
s = (f(x+.0001)>0.0);
}
x += step;
}
return 0;
}

[edit] C++

#include <iostream>
 
double f(double x)
{
return (x*x*x - 3*x*x + 2*x);
}
 
int main()
{
double step = 0.001; // Smaller step values produce more accurate and precise results
double start = -1;
double stop = 3;
double value = f(start);
double sign = (value > 0);
 
// Check for root at start
if ( 0 == value )
std::cout << "Root found at " << start << std::endl;
 
for( double x = start + step;
x <= stop;
x += step )
{
value = f(x);
 
if ( ( value > 0 ) != sign )
// We passed a root
std::cout << "Root found near " << x << std::endl;
else if ( 0 == value )
// We hit a root
std::cout << "Root found at " << x << std::endl;
 
// Update our sign
sign = ( value > 0 );
}
}

[edit] Common Lisp

Translation of: Perl

find-roots prints roots (and values near roots) and returns a list of root designators, each of which is either a number n, in which case (zerop (funcall function n)) is true, or a cons whose car and cdr are such that the sign of function at car and cdr changes.

(defun find-roots (function start end &optional (step 0.0001))
(let* ((roots '())
(value (funcall function start))
(plusp (plusp value)))
(when (zerop value)
(format t "~&Root found at ~W." start))
(do ((x (+ start step) (+ x step)))
((> x end) (nreverse roots))
(setf value (funcall function x))
(cond
((zerop value)
(format t "~&Root found at ~w." x)
(push x roots))
((not (eql plusp (plusp value)))
(format t "~&Root found near ~w." x)
(push (cons (- x step) x) roots)))
(setf plusp (plusp value)))))
> (find-roots #'(lambda (x) (+ (* x x x) (* -3 x x) (* 2 x))) -1 3)
Root found near 5.3588345E-5.
Root found near 1.0000072.
Root found near 2.000073.
((-4.6411653E-5 . 5.3588345E-5)
 (0.99990714 . 1.0000072)
 (1.9999729 . 2.000073))

[edit] D

module findroot ;
import std.stdio ;
import std.math ;
 
void report(T)(T[] r, T function(T) f, T tolerance = cast(T) 1e-4L) {
if (r.length) {
writefln("Root found (tolerance = %1.4g) :", tolerance) ;
foreach(x ; r) {
T y = f(x) ;
if (nearZero(y))
writefln("... EXACTLY at %+1.20f, f(x) = %+1.4g", x, y) ;
else if (nearZero(y, tolerance))
writefln(".... MAY-BE at %+1.20f, f(x) = %+1.4g", x, y) ;
else
writefln("Verify needed, f(%1.4g) = %1.4g > tolerance in magnitude", x, y) ;
}
} else
writefln("No root found.") ;
}
 
bool nearZero(T)(T a, T b = T.epsilon * 4) { return abs(a) <= b ; }
 
T[] findroot(T)(T function(T) f, T start, T end, T step = cast(T) 0.001L,
T tolerance = cast(T) 1e-4L) {
T[T] result ;
 
if (nearZero(step))
writefln("WARNING: step size may be too small.") ;
 
T searchRoot(T a, T b) { // search root by simple bisection
T root ;
int limit = 49 ;
T gap = b - a ;
while (!nearZero(gap) && limit--) {
if (nearZero(f(a))) return a ;
if (nearZero(f(b))) return b ;
root = (b + a)/2.0L ;
if (nearZero(f(root))) return root ;
if (f(a) * f(root) < 0)
b = root ;
else
a = root ;
gap = b - a ;
}
return root ;
}
 
T dir = cast(T) (end > start ? 1.0 : -1.0) ;
step = (end > start) ? abs(step) : - abs(step) ;
for(T x = start ; x*dir <= end*dir ; x = x + step)
if (f(x)*f(x + step) <= 0) {
T r = searchRoot(x, x+ step) ;
result[r] = f(r) ;
}
return result.keys.sort ; // reduce duplacated root, if any
}
 
real f(real x){
return x*x*x - 3*x*x + 2*x ;
}
 
void main(){
findroot(&f, -1.0L, 3.0L, 0.001L).report(&f) ;
}

Output ( NB:smallest increment for real type in D is real.epsilon = 1.0842e-19 ):

Root found (tolerance = 0.0001) :
.... MAY-BE at -0.00000000000000000080, f(x) = -1.603e-18
... EXACTLY at +1.00000000000000000020, f(x) = -2.168e-19
.... MAY-BE at +1.99999999999999999950, f(x) = -8.674e-19

[edit] Fortran

Works with: Fortran version 90 and later

PROGRAM ROOTS_OF_A_FUNCTION
 
IMPLICIT NONE
 
INTEGER, PARAMETER :: dp = SELECTED_REAL_KIND(15)
REAL(dp) :: f, e, x, step, value
LOGICAL :: s
 
f(x) = x*x*x - 3.0_dp*x*x + 2.0_dp*x
 
x = -1.0_dp ; step = 1.0e-6_dp ; e = 1.0e-9_dp
 
s = (f(x) > 0)
DO WHILE (x < 3.0)
value = f(x)
IF(ABS(value) < e) THEN
WRITE(*,"(A,F12.9)") "Root found at x =", x
s = .NOT. s
ELSE IF ((value > 0) .NEQV. s) THEN
WRITE(*,"(A,F12.9)") "Root found near x = ", x
s = .NOT. s
END IF
x = x + step
END DO
 
END PROGRAM ROOTS_OF_A_FUNCTION

The following approach uses the Secant Method[1] to numerically find one root. Which root is found will depend on the start values x1 and x2 and if these are far from a root this method may not converge.

INTEGER, PARAMETER :: dp = SELECTED_REAL_KIND(15)
INTEGER :: i=1, limit=100
REAL(dp) :: d, e, f, x, x1, x2
 
f(x) = x*x*x - 3.0_dp*x*x + 2.0_dp*x
 
x1 = -1.0_dp ; x2 = 3.0_dp ; e = 1.0e-15_dp
 
DO
IF (i > limit) THEN
WRITE(*,*) "Function not converging"
EXIT
END IF
d = (x2 - x1) / (f(x2) - f(x1)) * f(x2)
IF (ABS(d) < e) THEN
WRITE(*,"(A,F18.15)") "Root found at x = ", x2
EXIT
END IF
x1 = x2
x2 = x2 - d
i = i + 1
END DO

[edit] Haskell

f x = x^3-3*x^2+2*x
 
findRoots start stop step eps =
[x | x <- [start, start+step .. stop], abs (f x) < eps]

Executed in GHCi:

*Main> findRoots (-1.0) 3.0 0.0001 0.000000001
[-9.381755897326649e-14,0.9999999999998124,1.9999999999997022]

Or using package hmatrix from HackageDB.

import Numeric.GSL.Polynomials
import Data.Complex
 
*Main> mapM_ print $ polySolve [0,2,-3,1]
(-5.421010862427522e-20) :+ 0.0
2.000000000000001 :+ 0.0
0.9999999999999996 :+ 0.0

No complex roots, so:

*Main> mapM_ (print.realPart) $ polySolve [0,2,-3,1]
-5.421010862427522e-20
2.000000000000001
0.9999999999999996

[edit] J

J has builtin a root-finding operator, p., whose input is the (reversed) coeffiecients of the polynomial. Hence:

   1{::p.  0 2 _3 1    
2 1 0

We can determine whether the roots are exact or approximate by evaluating the polynomial at the candidate roots, and testing for zero:

   (0=]p.1{::p.) 0 2 _3 1 
1 1 1

As you can see, p. is also the operator which evaluates polynomials. This is not a coincidence.

[edit] Java

public class Roots {
public interface Function {
public double f(double x);
}
 
private static int sign(double x) {
return (x < 0.0) ? -1 : (x > 0.0) ? 1 : 0;
}
 
public static void printRoots(Function f, double lowerBound,
double upperBound, double step) {
double x = lowerBound, ox = x;
double y = f.f(x), oy = y;
int s = sign(y), os = s;
 
for (; x <= upperBound ; x += step) {
s = sign(y = f.f(x));
if (s == 0) {
System.out.println(x);
} else if (s != os) {
double dx = x - ox;
double dy = y - oy;
double cx = x - dx * (y / dy);
System.out.println("~" + cx);
}
ox = x; oy = y; os = s;
}
}
 
public static void main(String[] args) {
Function poly = new Function () {
public double f(double x) {
return x*x*x - 3*x*x + 2*x;
}
};
printRoots(poly, -1.0, 4, 0.002);
}
}

Produces this output:

~2.616794878713638E-18
~1.0000000000000002
~2.000000000000001

[edit] Maple

f := x^3-3*x^2+2*x;
roots(f,x);

outputs:

[[0, 1], [1, 1], [2, 1]]

which means there are three roots. Each root is named as a pair where the first element is the value (0, 1, and 2), the second one the multiplicity (=1 for each means none of the three are degenerate).

By itself (i.e. unless specifically asked to do so), Maple will only perform exact (symbolic) operations and not attempt to do any kind of numerical approximation.

[edit] Mathematica

There are multiple obvious ways to do this in Mathematica.

[edit] Solve

This requires a full equation and will perform symbolic operations only:

In[1]:= Solve[x^3-3*x^2+2*x==0,x]
Out[1]= {{x->0},{x->1},{x->2}}

[edit] NSolve

This requires merely the polynomial and will perform numerical operations if needed:

In[2]:= NSolve[x^3 - 3*x^2 + 2*x , x]
Out[2]= {{x->0.},{x->1.},{x->2.}}

(note that the results here are floats)

[edit] FindRoot

This will numerically try to find one(!) local root from a given starting point:

In[3]:= FindRoot[x^3 - 3*x^2 + 2*x , {x, 1.5}]
Out[3]= {x->0.}
In[4]:= FindRoot[x^3 - 3*x^2 + 2*x , {x, 1.1}]
Out[4]= {x->1.}

(note that there is no guarantee which one is found).

[edit] FindInstance

This finds a value (optionally out of a given domain) for the given variable (or a set of values for a set of given variables) that satisfy a given equality or inequality:

In[5]:= FindInstance[x^3 - 3*x^2 + 2*x == 0, x]
Out[5]= {{x->0}}

[edit] Reduce

This will (symbolically) reduce a given expression to the simplest possible form, solving equations and performing substitutions in the process:

In[6]:= Reduce[x^3 - 3*x^2 + 2*x == 0, x]
Out[6]= x==0||x==1||x==2

(note that this doesn't yield a "solution" but a different expression that expresses the same thing as the original)

[edit] OCaml

A general root finder using the False Position (Regula Falsi) method, which will find all simple roots given a small step size.

let bracket u v =
((u > 0.0) && (v < 0.0)) || ((u < 0.0) && (v > 0.0));;
 
let xtol a b = (a = b);; (* or use |a-b| < epsilon *)
 
let rec regula_falsi a b fa fb f =
if xtol a b then (a, fa) else
let c = (fb*.a -. fa*.b) /. (fb -. fa) in
let fc = f c in
if fc = 0.0 then (c, fc) else
if bracket fa fc then
regula_falsi a c fa fc f
else
regula_falsi c b fc fb f;;
 
let search lo hi step f =
let rec next x fx =
if x > hi then [] else
let y = x +. step in
let fy = f y in
if fx = 0.0 then
(x,fx) :: next y fy
else if bracket fx fy then
(regula_falsi x y fx fy f) :: next y fy
else
next y fy in
next lo (f lo);;
 
let showroot (x,fx) =
Printf.printf "f(%.17f) = %.17f [%s]\n"
x fx (if fx = 0.0 then "exact" else "approx") in
let f x = ((x -. 3.0)*.x +. 2.0)*.x in
List.iter showroot (search (-5.0) 5.0 0.1 f);;

Output:

f(0.00000000000000000) = 0.00000000000000000 [exact]
f(1.00000000000000022) = 0.00000000000000000 [exact]
f(1.99999999999999978) = 0.00000000000000000 [exact]

Note these roots are exact solutions with floating-point calculation.

[edit] Octave

If the equation is a polynomial, we can put the coefficients in a vector and use roots:

a = [ 1, -3, 2, 0 ];
r = roots(a);
% let's print it
for i = 1:3
n = polyval(a, r(i));
printf("x%d = %f (%f", i, r(i), n);
if (n != 0.0)
printf(" not");
endif
printf(" exact)\n");
endfor

Otherwise we can program our (simple) method:

Translation of: Python

function y = f(x)
y = x.^3 -3.*x.^2 + 2.*x;
endfunction
 
step = 0.001;
tol = 10 .* eps;
start = -1;
stop = 3;
se = sign(f(start));
 
x = start;
while (x <= stop)
v = f(x);
if ( (v < tol) && (v > -tol) )
printf("root at %f\n", x);
elseif ( sign(v) != se )
printf("root near %f\n", x);
endif
se = sign(v);
x = x + step;
endwhile

[edit] Perl

sub f
{
my $x = shift;
 
return ($x * $x * $x - 3*$x*$x + 2*$x);
}
 
my $step = 0.001; # Smaller step values produce more accurate and precise results
my $start = -1;
my $stop = 3;
my $value = &f($start);
my $sign = $value > 0;
 
# Check for root at start
 
print "Root found at $start\n" if ( 0 == $value );
 
for( my $x = $start + $step;
$x <= $stop;
$x += $step )
{
$value = &f($x);
 
if ( 0 == $value )
{
# We hit a root
print "Root found at $x\n";
}
elsif ( ( $value > 0 ) != $sign )
{
# We passed a root
print "Root found near $x\n";
}
 
# Update our sign
$sign = ( $value > 0 );
}

[edit] PL/I

 
f: procedure (x) returns (float (18));
declare x float (18);
return (x**3 - 3*x**2 + 2*x );
end f;
 
declare eps float, (x, y) float (18);
declare dx fixed decimal (15,13);
 
eps = 1e-12;
 
do dx = -5.03 to 5 by 0.1;
x = dx;
if sign(f(x)) ^= sign(f(dx+0.1)) then
call locate_root;
end;
 
locate_root: procedure;
declare (left, mid, right) float (18);
 
put skip list ('Looking for root in [' || x, x+0.1 || ']' );
left = x; right = dx+0.1;
PUT SKIP LIST (F(LEFT), F(RIGHT) );
if abs(f(left) ) < eps then
do; put skip list ('Found a root at x=', left); return; end;
else if abs(f(right) ) < eps then
do; put skip list ('Found a root at x=', right); return; end;
do forever;
mid = (left+right)/2;
if sign(f(mid)) = 0 then
do; put skip list ('Root found at x=', mid); return; end;
else if sign(f(left)) ^= sign(f(mid)) then
right = mid;
else
left = mid;
/* put skip list (left || right); */
if abs(right-left) < eps then
do; put skip list ('There is a root near ' ||
(left+right)/2); return;
end;
end;
end locate_root;
 

[edit] Python

Translation of: Perl

f = lambda x: x * x * x - 3 * x * x + 2 * x
 
step = 0.001 # Smaller step values produce more accurate and precise results
start = -1
stop = 3
 
sign = f(start) > 0
 
x = start
while x <= stop:
value = f(x)
 
if value == 0:
# We hit a root
print "Root found at", x
elif (value > 0) != sign:
# We passed a root
print "Root found near", x
 
# Update our sign
sign = value > 0
 
x += step

[edit] R

Translation of: Octave

f <- function(x) x^3 -3*x^2 + 2*x
 
findroots <- function(f, begin, end, tol = 1e-20, step = 0.001) {
se <- ifelse(sign(f(begin))==0, 1, sign(f(begin)))
x <- begin
while ( x <= end ) {
v <- f(x)
if ( abs(v) < tol ) {
print(sprintf("root at %f", x))
} else if ( ifelse(sign(v)==0, 1, sign(v)) != se ) {
print(sprintf("root near %f", x))
}
se <- ifelse( sign(v) == 0 , 1, sign(v))
x <- x + step
}
}
 
findroots(f, -1, 3)

[edit] Ruby

Translation of: Python

def sign(x)
x > 0 ? 1 : x == 0 ? 0 : -1
end
 
def find_roots(f, start, stop, step)
prev_sign = sign(f.call(start))
start.step(stop, step) do |x|
value = f.call(x)
if value == 0
# hit a root
puts "Root found at #{x}"
elsif prev_sign == -sign(value)
# passed a root in this iteration
puts "Root found between #{x-step} and #{x}"
end
prev_sign = sign(value)
end
end
 
f = lambda {|x| x**3 - 3*x**2 + 2*x}
 
find_roots(f, -1, 3, 0.001)

Output:

Root found between -0.000999999999999979 and 2.08166817117217e-17
Root found at 1.0
Root found at 2.0

[edit] Tcl

This simple brute force iteration marks all results, with a leading "~", as approximate. This version always reports its results as approximate because of the general limits of computation using fixed-width floating-point numbers (i.e., IEEE double-precision floats).

proc froots {lambda {start -3} {end 3} {step 0.0001}} {
set res {}
set lastsign [sgn [apply $lambda $start]]
for {set x $start} {$x <= $end} {set x [expr {$x + $step}]} {
set sign [sgn [apply $lambda $x]]
if {$sign != $lastsign} {
lappend res [format ~%.11f $x]
}
set lastsign $sign
}
return $res
}
proc sgn x {expr {($x>0) - ($x<0)}}
 
puts [froots {x {expr {$x**3 - 3*$x**2 + 2*$x}}}]

Result and timing:

/Tcl $ time ./froots.tcl
~0.00000000000 ~1.00000000000 ~2.00000000000

real    0m0.368s
user    0m0.062s
sys     0m0.030s

A more elegant solution (and faster, because you can usually make the initial search coarser) is to use brute-force iteration and then refine with Newton-Raphson, but that requires the differential of the function with respect to the search variable.

proc frootsNR {f df {start -3} {end 3} {step 0.001}} {
set res {}
set lastsign [sgn [apply $f $start]]
for {set x $start} {$x <= $end} {set x [expr {$x + $step}]} {
set sign [sgn [apply $f $x]]
if {$sign != $lastsign} {
lappend res [format ~%.15f [nr $x $f $df]]
}
set lastsign $sign
}
return $res
}
proc sgn x {expr {($x>0) - ($x<0)}}
proc nr {x1 f df} {
# Newton's method converges very rapidly indeed
for {set iters 0} {$iters < 10} {incr iters} {
set x1 [expr {
[set x0 $x1] - [apply $f $x0]/[apply $df $x0]
}]
if {$x0 == $x1} {
break
}
}
return $x1
}
 
puts [frootsNR \
{x {expr {$x**3 - 3*$x**2 + 2*$x}}} \
{x {expr {3*$x**2 - 6*$x + 2}}}]

[edit] TI-89 BASIC

Finding roots is a built-in function: zeros(x^3-3x^2+2x, x) returns {0,1,2}.

In this case, the roots are exact; inexact results are marked by decimal points.

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