median - Function

Calculate the median of a set of numbers

Synopsis
median(dots, is_sorted)

Description
The median of a set of "n" numbers is the middle value (after the values are sorted) if n is odd, or the average of the middle two numbers if n is even. The median is less subject to wild points than is the average - sometimes it is called a more "robust" statistic.

median is implemented the obvious way entirely in Glish, i.e. it sorts the values. More efficient implementations are possible if this turns out to be too inefficient (submit a gnat if you discover this to be true).

If is_sorted is set to T, the sorting is skipped for efficiency, but the results are undefined if the values are not actually sorted.

Arguments

dots	The numbers to perform statistics on
is_sorted	Set if the values are already sorted
	Allowed:	T/F
	Default:	F

Returns
the median

Example

- include "statistics.g"
+ median(1:100)
50.5

See Also
moments, average

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	Package	utility
	Module	mathematics