News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Labor of Division: Algorithm D by Syzygies on Wednesday May 05, 2021 @04:32PM (#27055352)
My recollection is that implementing this algorithm is fraught with peril: Some very smart people have coded it with mistakes that only appear for rare bit patterns.
Re:Labor of Division: Algorithm D by oxxoxoxooo on Wednesday May 05, 2021 @04:54PM (#27055681)
I think that I shall never envision

An op unlovely as division

An op whose answer must be guessed

And then, through multiply, assessed;

An op for which we dearly pay,

In cycles wasted every day.

Division code is often hairy;

Long division's downright scary.

The proofs can overtax your brain,

The ceiling and floor may drive you insane.

Good code to divide takes a Knuthian hero

But even God can't divide by zero!

-- Henry S. Warren Jr.

Hacker's Delight