Programming Praxis

We studied mixed-radix arithmetic in a previous exercise. In today’s exercise we look at a different kind of non-standard positional notation: balanced ternary, which is a base-3 number system that uses -1, 0 and 1 as its “trits” rather than 0, 1 and 2. For instance, the number -47 is written as (-1 1 1 -1 1) in balanced ternary, which is equivalent to -3⁴ + 3³ + 3² – 3¹ + 3⁰. No separate sign is needed when using balanced notation; the sign of the leading trit is the sign of the whole number.

Arithmetic on balanced ternary numbers is done using the grade-school algorithms. Addition is done right-to-left with a carry; it is easy and fun to work out the plus-table. Subtraction is done by adding the negative, which can be computed by changing the sign of every trit. Multiplication works trit-by-trit through the multiplier, shifting at each trit.

Your task is to write functions that perform arithmetic on balanced ternary integers. When you are finished, you are welcome to read or run a suggested solution, or to post your own solution or discuss the exercise in the comments below.

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