Reducing a fraction

[Semajthewise]

Hi again all,

I still am haaving trouble trying to get a least common denominator. I don't nessicarrily want someone to do the code just give me some direction on how to write it. I have included the code I have so far for the button click it works fine except that it will not do the reduction of the fraction answer. This is from a button click on a VB form.

 Private Sub AddFract_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles AddFract.Click
        ' setting up my variables
        Dim num1add As Double = AddNum1.Text
        Dim num2add As Double = AddNum2.Text
        Dim den1add As Double = AddDen1.Text
        Dim den2add As Double = AddDen2.Text
        Dim numansadd As Double
        Dim denansadd As Double
        Dim WholeNumberadd As Double
 
        ' if denominators  are different in text boxes then run this
        If den1add <> den2add Then
 
            'creates the numerator of the answer
            numansadd = ((num1add * den2add) + (num2add * den1add))
            'creates the denominator of the answer
            denansadd = (den1add * den2add)
 
            ' if denominators match run this
        Else
            ' adds the 2 numerators to create an answer
            numansadd = (num1add + num2add)
            ' keeps the matching denominators
            denansadd = (den1add)
 
        End If
        ' after adding if the numerator is higher that the denominatoer run this
        If numansadd >= denansadd Then
 
            ' setting variables
            Dim LoopCountadd As Integer
            Dim TimesLoopedadd As Integer
            TimesLoopedadd = 0
            LoopCountadd = 0
 
            ' a loop to subtract the denominator from the numerator until the numerator_
            ' is smaller than the denominator
 
            Do While numansadd >= denansadd
                ' subtracts the numerator from the denominator
                TimesLoopedadd = (denansadd - numansadd)
                ' counts up 1 for every time the numerator is subtracted from the denominator
                LoopCountadd += 1
                ' makes WholeNumber = the total of times the loop occurred
                WholeNumberadd = LoopCountadd
                ' makes the remainder = the new numerator answer
                numansadd = (numansadd - denansadd)
 
                ' goes back to see if the numerator is higher than the denominator
            Loop
           ' "this is where I want it to reduce"
        End If
        ' if the new numerator = 0 only the whole number is displayed
        If numansadd = 0 Then
 
            AddFractAns1.Text = "" & (WholeNumberadd)
 
            ' otherwise the whole number and the remaining fraction are displayed
        Else
 
            AddFractAns1.Text = "" & (WholeNumberadd) & " and " _
            & (numansadd) & "/" & (denansadd)
 
        End If
 
    End Sub
 

FYI this is just a project to teach myself VB. Thats why i have all the notes in my code
Thank you very much in advance for any help.

[Shashi Sadasivan]

Hi,
So this generally dosent seem to be the LCD issue.
You are bypassing the LCD issue by multiplying the denominators.

What you are really after is how to reduce the fraction!

A potential mistake would be if a fractions numberator is greater than the denominator.
what is the numbrator is a prime number and the denominator is smaller than that? --- infinite loop

what you could do is find all the prime number contained in numerator and denominator, and divide them by the common prime numbers. Repeat this until there are no more prime numbers left in it.

I have a DLL made which will return a List of prime numbers. Contact me if you want to use that.

cheers

EDIT: take a look at this site, explains in different ways how to get the LCD and reduce fractions. You may choose any of the procedures.

[Semajthewise]

Hi,
So this generally dosent seem to be the LCD issue.
You are bypassing the LCD issue by multiplying the denominators.

What you are really after is how to reduce the fraction!

A potential mistake would be if a fractions numberator is greater than the denominator.
what is the numbrator is a prime number and the denominator is smaller than that? --- infinite loop

what you could do is find all the prime number contained in numerator and denominator, and divide them by the common prime numbers. Repeat this until there are no more prime numbers left in it.

I have a DLL made which will return a List of prime numbers. Contact me if you want to use that.

cheers

EDIT: take a look at this site, explains in different ways how to get the LCD and reduce fractions. You may choose any of the procedures.

oops DOH! your right I meant reduce the fraction ( Embarassed)

I found something called Euclid's algorithm I tried that and your right I did wind up getting an infinite answer. What i cant undersatand is why I get this when i wait until the fraction has allready been split into a whole # and a fraction that has a lower numerator than denominator.

here's how I adjusted the code to try to do what I wanted. it was originally a function. And I have not got functions down yet :)

 Dim x As Integer
        Dim y As Integer
        Dim temp As Integer
        Dim GCD As Integer
 
        x = Math.Abs(x)
        y = Math.Abs(y)
 
        Do While (y <> 0)
            temp = x Mod y
            x = y
            y = temp
        Loop
        GCD = x
 
 
        x = x / GCD
        y = y / GCD
        denansadd = y
        numansadd = x
 

any ideas?

[Semajthewise]

Hi,
So this generally dosent seem to be the LCD issue.
You are bypassing the LCD issue by multiplying the denominators.

What you are really after is how to reduce the fraction!

A potential mistake would be if a fractions numberator is greater than the denominator.
what is the numbrator is a prime number and the denominator is smaller than that? --- infinite loop

what you could do is find all the prime number contained in numerator and denominator, and divide them by the common prime numbers. Repeat this until there are no more prime numbers left in it.

I have a DLL made which will return a List of prime numbers. Contact me if you want to use that.

cheers

EDIT: take a look at this site, explains in different ways how to get the LCD and reduce fractions. You may choose any of the procedures.

I finished it finally thanks again Shashi. Here's what I finally came up with and it works perfectly. tho probably over engeneered :)

Function.

' Returns the greatest common divisor using Euclid's algorithm
    Private Function GCD(ByVal x As Integer, ByVal y As Integer) As Integer
        Dim temp As Integer
 
        x = Math.Abs(x)
        y = Math.Abs(y)
 
        Do While (y <> 0)
            temp = x Mod y
            x = y
            y = temp
        Loop
 
        Return x
    End Function
 
Addition
 

' Setting up my variables
        Dim num1add As Integer = AddNum1.Text
        Dim num2add As Integer = AddNum2.Text
        Dim den1add As Integer = AddDen1.Text
        Dim den2add As Integer = AddDen2.Text
        Dim numansadd As Integer
        Dim denansadd As Integer
        Dim WholeNumberAdd As Integer
        Dim ReduceFraction As Integer
 
        ' If denominators  are different in text boxes then run this
        If den1add <> den2add Then
 
            'Creates the numerator of the answer
            numansadd = ((num1add * den2add) + (num2add * den1add))
            'Creates the denominator of the answer
            denansadd = (den1add * den2add)
 
            ' If denominators match run this
        Else
            ' Adds the 2 numerators to create an answer
            numansadd = (num1add + num2add)
            ' Keeps the matching denominators
            denansadd = (den1add)
 
        End If
        ' After adding if the numerator is higher that the denominatoer run this
        If numansadd >= denansadd Then
 
            ' Setting variables
            Dim LoopCountadd As Integer
            Dim TimesLoopedadd As Integer
            TimesLoopedadd = 0
            LoopCountadd = 0
 
            ' A loop to subtract the denominator from the numerator until the numerator_
            ' is smaller than the denominator
 
            Do While numansadd >= denansadd
                ' Subtracts the numerator from the denominator
                TimesLoopedadd = (denansadd - numansadd)
                ' Counts up 1 for every time the numerator is subtracted from the denominator
                LoopCountadd += 1
                ' Makes WholeNumber = the total of times the loop occurred
                WholeNumberAdd = LoopCountadd
                ' Makes the remainder = the new numerator answer
                numansadd = (numansadd - denansadd)
 
                ' Goes back to see if the numerator is higher than the denominator
            Loop
 
        End If
 
        ' Using the function GCD to get the greatest common divisor _
        ' With numansadd and denansadd as the variables
        ReduceFraction = GCD(numansadd, denansadd)
        ' Divides the numerator by the greatest common divisor
        numansadd = (numansadd / ReduceFraction)
        ' Divides the denominator by the greatest common divisor
        denansadd = (denansadd / ReduceFraction)
 
        ' If the new numerator = 0 only the whole number is displayed
        If numansadd = 0 Then
 
            AddFractAns1.Text = "" & (WholeNumberAdd)
 
            ' If there is no whole number then display the fraction only
        ElseIf WholeNumberAdd = 0 Then
            AddFractAns1.Text = "" & (numansadd) & "/" & (denansadd)
 
            ' Otherwise the whole number and the remaining fraction are displayed
        Else
 
            AddFractAns1.Text = "" & (WholeNumberAdd) & " and " _
            & (numansadd) & "/" & (denansadd)
 
        End If
 

subtraction

' Setting up my variables
        Dim num1sub As Integer = SubNum1.Text
        Dim num2sub As Integer = SubNum2.Text
        Dim den1sub As Integer = SubDen1.Text
        Dim den2sub As Integer = SubDen2.Text
        Dim numanssub As Integer
        Dim denanssub As Integer
        Dim WholeNumbersub As Integer
        Dim ReduceFraction As Integer
 
        ' If denominators  are different in text boxes then run this
        If den1sub <> den2sub Then
 
            'Creates the numerator of the answer
            numanssub = ((num1sub * den2sub) - (num2sub * den1sub))
            'Creates the denominator of the answer
            denanssub = (den1sub * den2sub)
 
            ' If denominators match run this
        Else
            ' Adds the 2 numerators to create an answer
            numanssub = (num1sub - num2sub)
            ' Keeps the matching denominators
            denanssub = (den1sub)
 
        End If
        ' After the math. if the numerator is higher that the denominatoer run this
        If Math.Abs(numanssub) >= Math.Abs(denanssub) Then
 
            ' Setting variables
            Dim LoopCountadd As Integer
            Dim TimesLoopedadd As Integer
            TimesLoopedadd = 0
            LoopCountadd = 0
 
            ' A loop to subtract the denominator from the numerator until the numerator_
            ' is smaller than the denominator
 
            Do While Math.Abs(numanssub) >= Math.Abs(denanssub)
                ' Subtracts the numerator from the denominator
                TimesLoopedadd = (Math.Abs(denanssub) - Math.Abs(numanssub))
                ' Counts up 1 for every time the numerator is subtracted from the denominator
                LoopCountadd += -1
                ' Makes WholeNumber = the total of times the loop occurred
                WholeNumbersub = LoopCountadd
                ' Makes the remainder = the new numerator answer
                numanssub = (Math.Abs(numanssub) - Math.Abs(denanssub))
 
                ' Goes back to see if the numerator is higher than the denominator
            Loop
 
        End If
 
        ' Using the function GCD to get the greatest common divisor _
        ' with numansadd and denansadd as the variables
        ReduceFraction = GCD(numanssub, denanssub)
        ' Divides the numerator by the greatest common divisor
        numanssub = (numanssub / ReduceFraction)
        ' Divides the denominator by the greatest common divisor
        denanssub = (denanssub / ReduceFraction)
 
        ' If the new numerator = 0 only the whole number is displayed
        If numanssub = 0 Then
 
            SubFractAns1.Text = "" & (WholeNumbersub)
 
            ' Of there is no whole number then display the fraction only
        ElseIf WholeNumbersub = 0 Then
            SubFractAns1.Text = "" & (numanssub) & "/" & (denanssub)
 
            ' Otherwise the whole number and the remaining fraction are displayed
        Else
 
            SubFractAns1.Text = "" & (WholeNumbersub) & " and " _
            & (numanssub) & "/" & (denanssub)
 
        End If
 

Multiplication

' Setting my variables
        Dim num1multi As Integer = MultiNum1.Text
        Dim num2multi As Integer = MultiNum2.Text
        Dim den1multi As Integer = MultiDen1.Text
        Dim den2multi As Integer = MultiDen2.Text
        Dim numansmulti As Integer = (num1multi * num2multi)
        Dim denansmulti As Integer = (den1multi * den2multi)
        Dim ReduceFractionmulti = GCD(numansmulti, denansmulti)
        Dim WholeNumberMulti As Integer
 
        ' This Reduces the fraction down to the least common denominator using the function GCD
        numansmulti = (numansmulti / ReduceFractionmulti)
        denansmulti = (denansmulti / ReduceFractionmulti)
 
        ' After the math. If the numerator is higher that the denominatoer run this
        If Math.Abs(numansmulti) >= Math.Abs(denansmulti) Then
 
            ' Setting variables
            Dim LoopCountadd As Integer
            Dim TimesLoopedadd As Integer
            TimesLoopedadd = 0
            LoopCountadd = 0
 
            ' A loop to subtract the denominator from the numerator until the numerator_
            ' is smaller than the denominator
            Do While Math.Abs(numansmulti) >= Math.Abs(denansmulti)
                ' Subtracts the numerator from the denominator
                TimesLoopedadd = (Math.Abs(denansmulti) - Math.Abs(numansmulti))
                ' Counts up 1 for every time the numerator is subtracted from the denominator
                LoopCountadd += 1
                ' Makes WholeNumber = the total of times the loop occurred
                WholeNumberMulti = LoopCountadd
                ' Makes the remainder = the new numerator answer
                numansmulti = (Math.Abs(numansmulti) - Math.Abs(denansmulti))
 
                ' Goes back to see if the numerator is higher than the denominator
            Loop
 
        End If
        ' If there is no fraction display only the whole number
        If numansmulti = 0 Then
 
            MultiFractAns1.Text = "" & (WholeNumberMulti)
 
            ' If there is no whole number then display the fraction only
        ElseIf WholeNumberMulti = 0 Then
 
            MultiFractAns1.Text = "" & (numansmulti) & "/" & (denansmulti)
 
            ' Otherwise the whole number and the remaining fraction are displayed
        Else
 
            MultiFractAns1.Text = "" & (WholeNumberMulti) & " and " _
            & (numansmulti) & "/" & (denansmulti)
 
        End If
 

Division

' Setting my variables
        Dim num1div As Integer = DivNum1.Text
        Dim num2div As Integer = DivNum2.Text
        Dim den1div As Integer = DivDen1.Text
        Dim den2div As Integer = DivDen2.Text
        Dim numansdiv As Integer = (num1div * den2div)
        Dim denansdiv As Integer = (num2div * den1div)
        Dim WholeNumberDiv As Integer
        Dim ReduceFractionDiv = GCD(numansdiv, denansdiv)
 
        ' This Reduces the fraction down to the least common denominator using the function GCD
        numansdiv = (numansdiv / ReduceFractionDiv)
        denansdiv = (denansdiv / ReduceFractionDiv)
 
        ' After the math. If the numerator is higher that the denominatoer run this
        If Math.Abs(numansdiv) >= Math.Abs(denansdiv) Then
 
            ' Setting variables
            Dim LoopCountadd As Integer
            Dim TimesLoopedadd As Integer
            TimesLoopedadd = 0
            LoopCountadd = 0
 
            ' A loop to subtract the denominator from the numerator until the numerator_
            ' is smaller than the denominator
            Do While Math.Abs(numansdiv) >= Math.Abs(denansdiv)
                ' Subtracts the numerator from the denominator
                TimesLoopedadd = (Math.Abs(denansdiv) - Math.Abs(numansdiv))
                ' Counts up 1 for every time the numerator is subtracted from the denominator
                LoopCountadd += 1
                ' Makes WholeNumber = the total of times the loop occurred
                WholeNumberDiv = LoopCountadd
                ' Makes the remainder = the new numerator answer
                numansdiv = (Math.Abs(numansdiv) - Math.Abs(denansdiv))
 
                ' Goes back to see if the numerator is higher than the denominator
            Loop
 
        End If
 
        ' If there is no fraction display only the whole number
        If numansdiv = 0 Then
 
            DivFractAns1.Text = "" & (WholeNumberDiv)
 
            ' If there is no whole number then display the fraction only
        ElseIf WholeNumberDiv = 0 Then
 
            DivFractAns1.Text = "" & (numansdiv) & "/" & (denansdiv)
 
            ' Otherwise the whole number and the remaining fraction are displayed
        Else
 
            DivFractAns1.Text = "" & (WholeNumberDiv) & " and " _
            & (numansdiv) & "/" & (denansdiv)
 
 
 
        End If
 

Thx all

[Shashi Sadasivan]

Thanks for sharing the solutioon with us

- Shashi