Why Does 1 / 3 Equal 0 in Java Integer Division?

Int Division: Unveiling the Truth Behind 1/3 == 0

Integer division in Java can be a perplexing concept, especially when it involves decimal values. The question at hand is why the result of 1 / 3 equals 0, even though we expect it to be 0.333...

Unveiling the Arithmetic

In this particular case, both operands (1 and 3) are integers, which means that integer arithmetic is employed by default. Despite declaring the result variable (g) as a double, an implicit conversion occurs after division.

The Intricacies of Integer Division

Integer division, as opposed to floating-point division, rounds the result towards zero. The true result of division, 0.333..., is consequently rounded down to 0. The processor essentially treats the decimal portion as if it were not there.

Floating-Point Arithmetic: A Different Story

If both operands are provided as floating-point numbers (3.0 and 1.0), floating-point arithmetic takes precedence. This results in the expected fractional value of 0.333.... Note that even if only the first operand is a float (e.g., 3.0 and 1), floating-point arithmetic is still used.

Practical Solutions

To obtain the decimal result, it is necessary to perform floating-point division explicitly. This can be achieved by casting both operands to doubles or floats:

public static void main(String[] args) {
    double g = (double) 1 / 3; // Explicitly cast to double
    System.out.printf("%.2f", g);
}

Alternatively, one can use the BigDecimal class for more precise numeric operations.

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