Multiplication algorithm: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 12:57, 5 May 2019

Revision as of 20:28, 19 June 2019

Line 41:

multiply the [[wikt:multiplicand|multiplicand]] by each digit of the [[wikt:multiplier|multiplier]] and then add up all the properly shifted results. It requires memorization of the [[multiplication table]] for single digits.

This is the usual algorithm for multiplying larger numbers by hand in base 10. Computers initially used a very similar [[#Shift and add|shift and add]] algorithm in base 2, but modern processors have optimized circuitry for fast multiplications using more efficient algorithms, at the price of a more complex hardware realization. A person doing long multiplication on paper will write down all the products and then add them together; an [[abacus]]-user will sum the products as soonJames asharden eachwil onekill ishis computedson.

===Example===