again in the partial denominators. Since , the above is also identical to the following generalized continued fractions: Computation Square roots of positive numbers are not in general rational numbers, and so cannot be written as a terminating or recurring decimal expression. Therefore in general any attempt to compute a square root expressed in decimal form can only yield an approximation, though a sequence of increasingly accurate approximations can be obtained. Most pocket calculators have a square root key. Computer spreadsheets and other software are also frequently used to calculate square roots. Pocket calculators typically implement efficient routines, such as the Newton's method (frequently with an initial guess of 1), to compute the square root of a positive real number. When computing square roots with logarithm tables or slide rules, one can exploit the identities where and 10 are the natural and base-10 logarithms. By trial-and-error, one can square an estimate for and raise or lower the estimate until it agrees to sufficient accuracy. For this technique it is prudent to use the identity as it allows one to adjust the estimate x by some amount c and measure the square of the adjustment in terms of the original estimate and its square. Furthermore, (x + c)2 ≈ x2 + 2xc when c is close to 0, because the tangent line to the graph of x2 + 2xc + c2 at c = 0, as a function of c alone, is y = 2xc + x2. Thus, small adjustments to x can be planned out by setting 2xc to a, or c = a/(2x). The most common iterative method of square root calculation by hand is known as the "Babylonian method" or "Heron's method" after the first-century Greek philosopher Heron of Alexandria, who first described it. The method uses the same iterative scheme as the Newton–Raphson method yields when applied to the function y = f(x) = x2 − a, using the fact that its slope at any point is dy/dx = (x) = 2x, but predates it by many centuries. The algorithm is to repeat a simple calculation that results in a number closer to the actual square root each time it is repeated with its result as the new input. The motivation is that if x is an overestimate to the square root of a nonnegative real number a then a/x will be an underestimate and so the