Ruby: Complex Numbers

By Xah Lee. Date: . Last updated: .

In Ruby, Complex number is represented by the object “Complex”. Example:

# ruby

# a complex number
cc = Complex(3, 4)

# when printed, it's shown as (x+y i)
p cc # (3+4i)

Get Real and Imaginary Parts

# ruby

# a complex number
cc = Complex(3, 4)

p cc.real # 3
p cc.imag # 4

Complex Number Addition, Multiplication

# ruby

# Complex number addition. (same as vector addition)
p Complex(2, 3) + Complex(4, 5) # (6+8i)

# multiplication of complex numbers
p Complex(1, 0) * Complex(0, 1) # (0+1i)

# scalar multiplication. That is, scale it.
p Complex(3, 4) * 2 # (6+8j)

# adding a scalar adds to the real part
p Complex(3, 4) + 1 # (4+4i)

Get Complex Number Length

# ruby

# length of a Complex number
p Complex(3, 4).abs # 5.0

Get Complex Number Angle

# ruby

z1 = Complex(0, 1)

# get the angle. return in radians
p z1.angle # 1.5707963267948966

Convert To/From Rectangular, Polar Coordinates

# ruby

length = 1
angle = Math::PI

# polar to rectangular coordinate
p Complex.polar(length, angle) # (-1+0.0i)
# ruby

z1 = Complex(0, 1)

# rectangular to polar coordinates. Returns a array [length, angle]
p z1.polar # [1, 1.5707963267948966]

http://www.ruby-doc.org/core-1.9.3/Complex.html

π and e

π is Math::PI

e is Math::E

# coding: utf-8
# ruby

# constant π
p Math::PI # 3.141592653589793

# constant e
p Math::E # 2.718281828459045

http://www.ruby-doc.org/core-1.9.3/Math.html