Introduction
In JavaScript, we have a Math object that provides tons of methods to
achieve certain mathematical operations. Unlike Java, there is no
math.toradians method in JavaScript.
The Math.toRadians method is supposed to convert an angle from degrees
to radians.
Radians and degrees are both units of angle measurement, but they represent the angle in different ways. In radians, the angle is measured in terms of the radius of a circle, with 2π radians equal to a full circle. In degrees, the angle is measured in terms of a full circle, with 360 degrees equal to a full circle.
In this article, we will create our custom toradians function in
JavaScript.
Convert degrees to radians using Math.toRadians
The formula to convert degrees to radians can be seen below
radians = degrees x (pi / 180)
To create that in JavaScript, we can make use of the Math.PI property
value and obtain the degree value from the user.
Here is the way to write a function that converts degrees to radians in JavaScript:
function degreesToRadians(degrees) {
return degrees * (Math.PI / 180);
}
To use this function, you would call it like this:
console.log(degreesToRadians(180))
Output
3.141592653589793
This function converts degrees to radians by multiplying the number of
degrees by π / 180. This is a mathematical conversion factor that is
used to convert between the two units.
Note that this function will only work for positive degree values. If you want to be able to convert negative degrees to radians as well, you can modify the function like this:
function degreesToRadians(degrees) {
return (degrees % 360) * (Math.PI / 180);
}
This version of the function takes the remainder of the degree value when divided by 360, which allows it to handle negative degrees. For example:
console.log(degreesToRadians(-90));
Output
-1.5707963267948966
Summary
JavaScript comes with a lot of native methods but unfortunately, it
doesn’t have the math.toradians method to help convert from degrees to
radians. We have shown how we can make use of the Math object property
to make a custom toradians method.
