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Karatsuba Algorithm

Algorithm

A divide-and-conquer algorithm for multiplying two large numbers faster than the grade-school method, by splitting each number into halves and reducing four sub-multiplications to three, one of the earliest algorithms shown to beat the naive quadratic bound.

Facts
Origin Year
1960 1
Core Principle
Multiplies two n-digit numbers using three multiplications of n/2-digit numbers instead of four, a divide-and-conquer approach that is asymptotically faster than long multiplication. 1
Connections

In Field

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Karatsuba Algorithm
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section, second sentence
    It was discovered by Anatoly Karatsuba in 1960 and published in 1962.
  • Lead section, third sentence
    It is a divide-and-conquer algorithm that reduces the multiplication of two n-digit numbers to three multiplications of n/2-digit numbers
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