Let $T$ be the set of pythagorean triples, that is, triples of integers (a,b,c) satisfying a2 + b2 = c2. We think of $T$ as the set of right angles triangles with integer lengths. And let $f : T \rightarrow \mathbb{Z}$ be the function $(a,b,c) \mapsto \frac{ab}{12}$ which computes the area of a triangle (divided by 6, which seems to always be a factor for some reason).
I was wondering: what are the number theoretic propertires of $f$? It seems to produce numbers with few prime factors. What is the reason for this? For instance, $f(3,4,5) = 1$, $f(36,77,85) = 3 * 11 * 7$, and $f(65,72,97)=39*5*2$. Can we put a bound on the number of prime factors in the numbers that $f$ spits out? Or at least, can we give a 'generic' statement such as 'The output of $f$ almost always spits out numbers with less than 8 factors' or something?