CSC297.Java, 2003F: A Rational Class

Admin:
* We'll discuss your proposed methods in a moment.
* Don't forget, Friday is the deadline for add/drop.

Topics:
* A Rational Class
* Lessons Learned

We should be able to simplify rational numbers
	Rational rat = new Rational(2,4);
	rat.simplify() // Option 1
	Rational.simplify(rat); // Option 2
	// Option 3: Rationals are only stored in simplified form
	// We choose option 3
Output as a string
Output in decimal format
	// Option 1: Print it
	// Option 2: Return a double/real
	// Option 3: Return a string for the decimal
	// We select option 2
	Rational half = new Rational(1,2);
	double x = half.doubleValue();
Arithmetic operations
	Rational a = new Rational(...);
	Rational b = new Rational(...);
	Rational c = a.times(b); // Option 1
	Rational d = Rational.multiply(a,b); // Option 2
	// We select option 2

Object Fields
	long numerator
	long denominator

Class Fields

Constructors
	Client provides numerator and denominator
	Client provides real number and we figure out the corr. rational.

Object Methods
* simplify (internal method, not available to outside world)
* String toString()
* doubleValue, shortValue, floatValue, ...

Class Methods
* multiply
* divide
* add
* subtract

Lessons learned:

* When referring to fields, you should always give the name of the object.
* If you have no other name (i.e., if it's in "the current object"), use this
* If you use /** ... */ style comments, you can create nifty documentation with javadoc.
  * E.g. javadoc *.java
  * E.g. javadoc Foo.java Bar.java
* When you treat an object like a string, Java automatically calls the "toString" method.

Your goal for Wednesday: Finish the Rational class (and extend the TestRational class to include your other stuff).  If you can't figure out how to write the other constructor, that's okay, we'll discuss it.