Multiplication algorithm

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A multiplication algorithm is an algorithm (or method) to multiply two numbers. Depending on the size of the numbers, different algorithms are more efficient than others. Numerous algorithms are known and there has been much research into the topic. The oldest and simplest method, known since antiquity as long multiplication or grade-school multiplication, consists of multiplying every digit in the first number by every digit in the second and adding the results. This has a time complexity of O ( n 2 ) {\displaystyle O(n^{2})} , where n is the number of digits. When done by hand, this may also be reframed as grid method multiplication or lattice multiplication. In software, this may be called "shift and add" due to bitshifts and addition being the only two operations needed. In 1960, Anatoly Karatsuba discovered Karatsuba multiplication, unleashing a flood of research...

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