How to Divide in Java with Decimals

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: February 8, 2022

This wikiHow article will show you three ways to do decimal numbers in Java. If you want to divide two integers (non-decimal) and get a non-rounded answer, cast one of the operands to a double. To divide two decimal numbers (or an integer by a decimal or vice-versa), you can use simple double division to ensure a decimal result. When working with larger numbers or numbers that needs to be extremely precise, you can use the BigDecimal Java class instead of floating point arithmetic.

1

Get a decimal result from two integers

Java, like other programming languages, uses integer division by default. If dividing two integers results in a remainder, the remainder is discarded, leaving you with a whole integer as the answer. If you need to divide two integers and get a decimal result, you can cast either the numerator or denominator to double before the operation.^{[1]
X
Research source} is performed. In this example, we'll cast a to double so we get a decimal result:
```
int a = 55;
int b = 25;
double r = (double) a / b
// The answer is 2.2.
```

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2

Divide two decimal numbers (doubles)

When you're dividing a decimal number by another decimal number, you'll use double division.^{[2]
X
Research source} Similarly, if one of the two operands is an integer (a non-decimal number), the result will still be a decimal number if the other operand is a double. Here is a simple example of dividing two decimal numbers with double division:
```
double x = 10.5; 
double y = 2.5; 
x / y 
// the answer is 4.2
```

3

Get the most precise decimal results with BigDecimal

If you're working with currency or need the most precise decimal result, use the BigDecimal class. Floating point arithmetic (which is what you're doing with double) is less precise, as double stores numbers as binary representations of fractions and exponents instead of exact representations (fixed-point numbers).^{[3]
X
Research source} To ensure you're working with fixed-point numbers, use BigDecimal. In this example, we'll use BigDecimal to divide two numbers for a precise result:
```
BigDecimal bdec = new BigDecimal("706");
BigDecimal bdecRes = bdec.divide(new BigDecimal("20"));
System.out.println("Divide: " + bdecRes);
// Divide with MathContext
MathContext mc = new MathContext(2, RoundingMode.FLOOR);	
BigDecimal bdecMath = bdec.divide(new BigDecimal("20"), mc);
System.out.println("Divide with MathContext: " + bdecMath);
// the first result will be 45.25, and the second will be 45.
```
- When you use BigDecimal, you'll need to specify the RoundingMode for the result, which can be UP (away from zero), DOWN (toward zero), CEILING (toward positive infinity), FLOOR (toward negative infinity), HALF_UP (toward nearest neighbor, or up if both neighbors are equal), HALF_DOWN (toward nearest neighbor, or down if equal), HALF_EVEN (toward nearest neighbor, or to the nearest even neighbor if equal), or UNNECESSARY (result should be exact).^{[4]
  X
  Research source}

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About This Article

Written by:

Nicole Levine, MFA

wikiHow Technology Writer

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been viewed 34,523 times.

8 votes - 100%

Co-authors: 3

Updated: February 8, 2022

Views: 34,523

Categories: Mathematics

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