I really like this solution. While most other have used the Math object to get the job done, your solution is pretty language agnostic and thus this solution can be applied in a variety of scenerio irrespective of the language.

Is it a good idea to write a lower level code compared to using pre-existing libraries while you are learning? I am just asking because I tend to write code like this too. I have this idea in my head that if I extensively borrow from libraries I might be cheating.

both :)

this code smells like Java, or C :D
what did you write before?