Quick Answer

Handling mathematical division safely

Understanding the Issue

This error occurs when attempting to divide by zero. Always validate denominators before division operations.

The Problem

This code demonstrates the issue:

Ruby Error 
# Problem: Unsafe division
def calculate(x, y)
  x / y
end
calculate(5, 0) # ZeroDivisionError

The Solution

Here's the corrected code:

Ruby Fixed 
# Solution 1: Check zero
def calculate(x, y)
  return Float::INFINITY if y.zero?
  x.to_f / y
end

# Solution 2: Rescue
begin
  1 / 0
rescue ZeroDivisionError
  "Cannot divide by zero"
end

Key Takeaways

Validate denominators before division.