Built-in module to calculate the least common multiple

Question

I am currently using a function that accepts two numbers and uses a loop to find the least common multiple of those numbers,

def lcm(x, y):    """This function takes two    integers and returns the L.C.M."""     # Choose the greater number    if x > y:        greater = x    else:        greater = y     while(True):        if((greater % x == 0) and (greater % y == 0)):            lcm = greater            break        greater += 1     return lcm 

Is there a built-in module in Python that does it instead of writing a custom function?

Answer 1

In Python 3.8 and earlier

There is no such thing built into the stdlib.

However, there is a Greatest Common Divisor function in the math library. (For Python 3.4 or 2.7, it's buried in fractions instead.) And writing an LCM on top of a GCD is pretty trivial:

def lcm(a, b):     return abs(a*b) // math.gcd(a, b) 

Or, if you're using NumPy, it's come with an lcm function for quite some time now.

Answer 2

In Python 3.9+

This is available as math.lcm(). It also takes any length of arguments, allowing you to find the lowest common multiple of more than 2 integers.