public function getSigFigs($n)
    {
        $n = ltrim($n, '0+-');
        $dp = strpos($n, '.'); // decimal position
        if ($dp === false) {
            $sigfigs = strlen(rtrim($n, '0'));
        } else {
            $sigfigs = strlen(ltrim($n, '0.')); // eliminate extra decimal character
            if ($dp !== 0) {
                $sigfigs--;
            }
        }
        return $sigfigs;
    }