Arithmetic/Rational: Difference between revisions

=={{header|Maple}}==

Maple has full built-in support for arithmetic with fractions (rational numbers). Fractions are treated like any other number in Maple.

<lang Maple>

> a := 3 / 5;

a := 3/5

> numer( a );

3

> denom( a );

5

</lang>

However, while you can enter a fraction such as "4/6", it will automatically be reduced so that the numerator and denominator have no common factor:

<lang Maple>

> b := 4 / 6;

b := 2/3

</lang>

All the standard arithmetic operators work with rational numbers. It is not necessary to call any special routines.

<lang Maple>

> a + b;

19

--

15

> a * b;

2/5

> a / b;

9/10

> a - b;

-1

--

15

> a + 1;

8/5

> a - 1;

-2/5

</lang>

Notice that fractions are treated as exact quantities; they are not converted to floats. However, you can get a floating point approximation to any desired accuracy by applying the function evalf to a fraction.

<lang Maple>

> evalf( 22 / 7 ); # default is 10 digits

3.142857143

> evalf[100]( 22 / 7 ); # 100 digits

3.142857142857142857142857142857142857142857142857142857142857142857\

142857142857142857142857142857143

</lang>