LessThan operator overload

Project: Fractions

Unit: DelphiDabbler.Lib.Fractions

Record: TFraction

Applies to: ~>0.1

class operator LessThan(const A, B: TFraction): Boolean;

Description

This operator overload permits two TFractions to be compared using the < (less than) operator.

One fraction is considered to be less than a second if the 1st cross product of the two fractions is less than the 2nd cross product. Take for example 3/4 and 7/8. Their 1st cross product is 3 × 8 = 24 and their 2nd cross product is 4 × 7 = 28. Since 24 < 28, 3/4 is less than 7/8.

A TFraction can also be compared to integer and floating point types using the < operator. The Implicit operator takes care of converting the integer and floating point operands to TFraction before performing the comparison.

Example

var
  F1, F2, F3: TFraction;
  D: Double;
  I: Integer;
begin
  F1 := TFraction.Create(1, 2);
  F2 := TFraction.Create(3, 4);
  F3 := TFraction.Create(5, 4);
  D := 0.6;
  I := 1;
  Assert(F1 < F2);
  Assert(F2 < F3);
  Assert(F1 < F3);
  Assert(F1 < D);
  Assert(D < F2);
  Assert(D < F3);
  Assert(F1 < I);
  Assert(F2 < I);
  Assert(I < F3);
end;

See Also