Binary number Binary number In mathematics and digital electronics, a binary number is a number expressed in the base-2 numeral system or binary numeral system, which uses only two symbols: typically 0 (zero) and 1 (one). The base-2 numeral system is a positional notation with a radix of 2. Each digit is referred to as a bit. Because of its straightforward implementation in digital electronic circuitry using logic gates, the binary system is used by almost all modern computers and computer-based devices. The modern binary number system was studied in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries by Thomas Harriot, Juan Caramuel
Binary GCD algorithm Binary GCD algorithm The binary GCD algorithm, also known as Stein's algorithm, is an algorithm that computes the greatest common divisor of two nonnegative integers. Stein's algorithm uses simpler arithmetic operations than the conventional Euclidean algorithm; it replaces division with arithmetic shifts, comparisons, and subtraction. Although the algorithm was first published by the Israeli physicist and programmer Josef Stein in 1967, it may have been known in 1st-century China. The algorithm reduces the problem of finding the GCD by repeatedly applying these identities: The algorithm requires O(n) worst-case time, where n is the number of bits in the larger of