This directory containes code and documentation for an R package based
on the S package `rational' by Bill Venables.

The original README file is appended below.

KH <Kurt.Hornik@ci.tuwien.ac.at> 1997/09/16

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1) I enclose a small but hopefully useful submission but for theoretical
   more than data analytic calculations.  It is loosely modelled on a
   similar facility in MATLAB.

   rational(x) is like round(x,k) except that the rounding is done to
	a nearby rational approximation to x rather than to a fixed
	number of decimal places.  It can remove round-off error in some
	cases and is useful, like round(), for enhancing displays, etc.

   fractions(x) returns the same result as round(x) but as a character
	string in ordinary fraction form.  fractions(0.6666667) = "2/3"
	Useful for levels in categories and tables and for revealing
	patterns in highly structured arrays with rational entries.

   rat(x,...) is a low level function used by rational() and fractions().

2) The main submission is given as a shar file below.  Rather than a
   formal Makefile I have included a short shell script, `rat.make' that
   does a similar job.  It should work in most UNIX environments without
   change.  The README also includes instructions for hand installation,
   if preferred.

   Author's Name: Bill Venables. 

    Dr. W. N. Venables,                   |  Phone:         +61 8  228 5418
    Department of Statistics,             |  Fax:           +61 8  224 0464
    University of Adelaide,               |  Telex:         UNIVAD AA 89141
    GPO Box 498, Adelaide, S.A. 5000      |  ACSnet: wvenable@spam.ua.oz.au

   Email address: wvenable@spam.ua.oz.au  [ACSnet, Australia - may need
					   some research for your site.]

   I am willing to help if there are any difficulties, but email to and
   from Australia can be expensive and the service is rather flaky.

3) This tiny piece of code is PUBLIC DOMAIN and redistributions, changes,
   etc are unrestricted.  Formal copyright is maintained by the author to
   inhibit the unlikely event of someone trying to sell it.
