Percentage difference of two numbers?

[pivoxa15]

I am doing a computer science course and one exercise is to show that two numbers are within 0.01% of each other.

The first step is to ask how one would define the percentage difference between two numbers?

I would define it as:
[(larger number – smaller number)/ (|the number midway between the two numbers|)] * 100

I think this way is better compared with other ways such as

1. [(larger number – smaller number)/(|smaller number|)] *100
or
2. [(larger number – smaller number)/(|larger number|)] * 100

Mainly because my way allows one to get the same percentage difference between for example, (4,6) and (-4,-6). While the other two ways does not.

Using 1.
(6 – 4)/4 = 50%
(-4 – -6)/|-6| = 33%

Using 2.
(6 – 4)/6 = 33%
(-4 – -6)/|-4| = 50%

Preferred Method.
(6 – 4)/5 = 40%
(-4 – -6)/|-5| = 40%

Do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks

 

[iNCREDiBLE]

Presumed that a, b are non-zero and both either positive or negative (at the same time). Then this should do it:

return (max(a,b)/min(a,b) <= 1.0001 && min(a,b)/max(a,b) >= 0.9999);

 

[pivoxa15]

That was a good idea but in my case either a or b could be positive and negative so I could have (2,-3). So the way you suggested has problems with this case (otherwise it is more superior than my way). Do you have a better method to cope with this one positive, one negative case?

 

[iNCREDiBLE]

A negative number can never lie within 0.01% of a positive number or vice versa. That just can't happen! So if (a,b) can be (2,-3) the problem don't make any sense! But you could try:

return (abs(max(a,b)/min(a,b)) <= 1.0001 && abs(min(a,b)/max(a,b)) >= 0.9999);

Note that before using this method you have to take care of the case where a or b equals 0. And why is that? Cause division with zero is undefined. If a equals 0 and b is non-zero they can't lie within 0.01% of each other. But if a and b both equals 0 they will lie within each other. So I'd use (instead of the one obove):

return (a == b || a != 0 && b != 0 && abs(max(a,b)/min(a,b)) <= 1.0001 && abs(min(a,b)/max(a,b)) >= 0.9999);

If a equals b it will stop there and return the value true (even for the case a=b=0). But if a does not equal b it will continue to check that a and b are non-zero. If someone of them are zero it will stop there and return the value false. If they are both non-zero it will simply continue to check if they are within 0.01% each other.
This way we don't have to use if/else.