About ihateDesmos
A graphing calculator built on one idea: the picture on screen should be mathematically true, and the calculator should be able to show why.
Why it exists
Graphing calculators are extraordinary teaching tools, but almost all of them work the same way: sample a function at a few thousand points and join the dots. That is fast and usually fine. It is also why curves sometimes grow false vertical lines at asymptotes, why a curve that touches zero without crossing it can vanish, and why a tiny feature between two samples can be missed entirely.
ihateDesmos started as an attempt to remove those failure modes and then kept going: a computer algebra system so you can see the algebra behind the picture, statistics and regression with honest error estimates, differential equations, complex functions, 3D surfaces and notebooks for writing it all up.
How it computes
- Adaptive sampling. Every curve is refined until neighbouring samples are within half a pixel, and jumps are detected rather than joined.
- Interval arithmetic. In certified mode the calculator proves which pixels can contain a curve, so curves that touch zero without crossing it still appear.
- Exact where possible. Expressions are compiled once into fast native code, trigonometry at multiples of π/2 is exact, and odd roots of negative numbers are real.
- Error estimates. Integrals use adaptive Gauss–Kronrod quadrature and report how accurate they are. Regressions report standard errors and confidence bands.
Privacy
There is no account and nothing to sign up for. Your graphs, notebooks and version history are stored in your own browser. Sharing a graph puts it in the link itself; nothing is uploaded to a server. See the privacy page for details.
The name
The name is a joke about a feeling many students have had at 11pm before a deadline, not a statement about the people who make Desmos, who have done more than anyone to make graphing free. ihateDesmos is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Desmos Studio PBC. Desmos is a trademark of its owner, used here only to identify that product.
Corrections
If you find a mathematical error anywhere on this site or in the calculator, we want to know. Accuracy is the whole point.