import math


def _log_spcl(x):
    """
    Log special returns the base 10 log of the absolute value of x for
    non-zero x. Otherwise, if x is 0, return 0

    Parameters
    ----------

    x : int or float

    Returns
    -------

    float
    """
    if x == 0:
        return 0
    else:
        return math.log(abs(x), 10)