"""Find the value of d < 1000 for which 1/d contains the longest recurring cycle.A unit fraction contains 1 in the numerator. The decimal representation of the unit fractions with denominators 2 to 10 are given: 1/2 = 0.5 1/3 = 0.(3) 1/4 = 0.25 1/5 = 0.2 1/6 = 0.1(6) 1/7 = 0.(142857) 1/8 = 0.125 1/9 = 0.(1) 1/10 = 0.1 Where 0.1(6) means 0.166666..., and has a 1-digit recurring cycle. It can be seen that 1/7 has a 6-digit recurring cycle. Find the value of d < 1000 for which 1/d contains the longest recurring cycle in its decimal fraction part. """ from decimal import Decimal from e003 import pfactor def coprime(a, b): """Are integers a and b coprime?""" primes_a = pfactor(a) primes_b = pfactor(b) primes = [p for p in primes_a if p in primes_b] return bool(primes) def period_length(numerator, denominator): """Determine the period length of a non-terminating decimal""" length = None numerator = Decimal(numerator) denominator = Decimal(denominator) if numerator == 1: if denominator == 1: return 1 primes = pfactor(int(denominator)) """ From Wikipedia: Terminating decimals represent rational numbers of the form k/2^n5^m However, a terminating decimal also has a representation as a repeating decimal, obtained by decreasing the final (nonzero) digit by one and appending an infinitely repeating sequence of nines. 1 = 0.999999... and 1.585 = 1.584999999... are two examples of this. """ if len([p for p in primes if p not in [2, 5]]) == 0: return 1 if coprime(denominator, 10): pass else: raise Exception('Non-reciprocal period detection not yet implemented') return length def main(): MAX = 10 longest_cycle = 0 for i in xrange((MAX), 1, -1): # The period of 1/k for integer k is always ² k ? 1. if longest_cycle >= i: break cycle = period_length(1, i) fraction = Decimal(1) / Decimal(i) print '1/{0} = {1} ({2})'.format(i, fraction, cycle), fraction.is_subnormal() if __name__ == '__main__': main()