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RE: Eliminating common factors?

• To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
• Subject: [mg93349] RE: [mg93299] Eliminating common factors?
• From: "Richard Hofler" <rhofler at bus.ucf.edu>
• Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2008 06:20:20 -0500 (EST)
• References: <200811031026.FAA05117@smc.vnet.net>

Does this give you what you want?

In[23]:= exprsimpl = 4Factor[(a/4 + b/(4 c))]//Simplify

Out[23]= a+(b/c)

Richard Hofler

-----Original Message-----
From: AES [mailto:siegman at stanford.edu]
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 5:27 AM
To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
Subject: [mg93349] [mg93299] Eliminating common factors?

I have a simple, totally algebraic symbolic calculation that displays
its output in the form (rewritten here using TeX notation)

      4 ( {a \over 4 } + { b \over 4 c } )

where a, b and c are fairly simple products of purely algebraic
quantities; \over is the TeX notation for a display fraction; and the
curly brackets are just for TeX purposes and are not there in the actual

output.

Is there any Assumption for Simplify, or any other _simple_ way, to get
rid of those (utterly!!!) superfluous 4's?

[I suppose the real question is, why doesn't M cancel 'em the hell out
in the first place?!?!]

• References:
  • Eliminating common factors?
    • From: AES <siegman@stanford.edu>