Convert Fraction String to Decimal?

Question

I\'m trying to create a javascript function that can take a fraction input string such as \'3/2\' and convert it to decimal—either as a string \'1.5\'

Answer 1

If you don't mind using an external library, math.js offers some useful functions to convert fractions to decimals as well as perform fractional number arithmetic.

console.log(math.number(math.fraction("1/3"))); //returns 0.3333333333333333
console.log(math.fraction("1/3") * 9) //returns 3

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/mathjs/3.20.1/math.js"></script>

Answer 2

Since no one has mentioned it yet there is a quick and dirty solution:

var decimal = eval(fraction); 

Which has the perks of correctly evaluating all sorts of mathematical strings.

eval("3/2")    // 1.5
eval("6")      // 6
eval("6.5/.5") // 13, works with decimals (floats)
eval("12 + 3") // 15, you can add subtract and multiply too

People here will be quick to mention the dangers of using a raw eval but I submit this as the lazy mans answer.

Answer 3

If you want to use the result as a fraction and not just get the answer from the string, a library like https://github.com/infusion/Fraction.js would do the job quite well.

var f = new Fraction("3/2");
console.log(f.toString()); // Returns string "1.5"
console.log(f.valueOf()); // Returns number 1.5

var g = new Fraction(6.5).div(.5);
console.log(f.toString()); // Returns string "13"

Answer 4

This too will work:

let y = "2.9/59"
let a = y.split('')
let b = a.splice(a.indexOf("/"))
console.log(parseFloat(a.join('')))
a = parseFloat(a.join(''))
console.log(b)
let c = parseFloat(b.slice(1).join(''))
let d = a/c
console.log(d) // Answer for y fraction