Basic Examples (3) 

Compute the integral of a rational function:

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Compute the integral of a rational function (using Mack's Hermite reduction) where the solution does not contain any logarithmic terms:

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Computes a continuous solution to rational integral given in Symbolic Integration I by Manuel Bronstein:

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Scope (6) 

IntegrateRational can compute many integrals for which Integrate fails to return an elementary form:

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In comparison, here's the result from Integrate:

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Similarly, the following integral has a concise form from IntegrateRational:

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While Integrate expresses the result as a RootSum:

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Some integrals will be expressed in finite terms by IntegrateRational, whereas Integrate returns unevaluated:

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Integrating some rational functions will introduce algebraic numbers. The solution from IntegrateRational is in the minimal algebraic extension field:

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Other integrals will be expressed with hyperbolic arc-tangents:

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IntegrateRational works with integrands that contain parameters:

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Options (4) 

PartialFractions (1) 

The option "PartialFractions" specifies if a partial fraction decomposition (with Apart) and term-by-term integration should be used:

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Extension (1) 

Computing integrals of rational functions using partial fraction decompositions with factorizations over different algebraic extension fields can give alternative forms:

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LogToArcTan (2) 

By default, sums of complex logarithms are converted into arc-tangents, and sums of real logarithms are converted into hyperbolic arc-tangents:

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This feature can be turned off:

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Applications (3) 

The output from IntegrateRational will be real and continuous on the real line where possible:

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Now evaluate at the endpoints 0 and 1, thus effectively computing a closed form for the definite integral using the Newton-Leibniz theorem:

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By comparison, Integrate gives a substantially more complicated (though equivalent) result:

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Verify numerically that this is π:

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Use the Newton-Leibniz method to compute alternative forms to Integrate for definite integrals:

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Compare to Integrate:

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Verify equivalence:

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As the result from IntegrateRational is in the minimal algebraic extension field, we know the following integral cannot be expressed without introducing the algebraic number :

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Properties and Relations (3) 

For many simple rational integrals, the result from IntegrateRational and Integrate will often be the same:

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Even though a partial fraction decomposition is not immediately possible (via Apart), a concise form for this integral is still possible with IntegrateRational:

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Whereas Integrate requires a complete factorization of the denominator of the integrand:

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Some integrals will be expressed using Root and RootSum:

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Possible Issues (5) 

IntegrateRational expands polynomials prior to integration:

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The algorithms used by IntegrateRational requires either exact expressions or expressions which rationalize to exact expressions:

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The integral of many rational functions will be significantly larger than the integrand:

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Sometimes additional simplification is required to express the integral in the minimal algebraic extension field:

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Compare the result above to the following result obtained with Rubi:

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For some integrals, especially integrals that contain algebraic number coefficients, IntegrateRational may take significantly longer than Integrate:

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Further simplification of the result from IntegrateRational may be possible:

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Neat Examples (3) 

Integrating some rational functions will introduce many logarithms and arc-tangents:

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While other rational functions are integrable in terms of algebraic functions without the introduction of new logarithms or arc-tangents:

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The following integral cannot be solved without introducing the algebraic number :

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Many rational integrals (and algebraic integrals) will have symmetric instances of ArcTan and ArcTanh:

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