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In arithmetic, long division is a standard division algorithm suitable for dividing multi-digit Hindu-Arabic numerals (positional notation) that is simple enough to perform by hand. It breaks down a division problem into a series of easier steps.
For division to always yield one number rather than an integer quotient plus a remainder, the natural numbers must be extended to rational numbers or real numbers. In these enlarged number systems, division is the inverse operation to multiplication, that is a = c / b means a × b = c, as long as b is not zero.
Division by zero is considered impossible at an elementary arithmetic level. Two numbers can be divided on paper using long division . An abbreviated version of long division, short division , can be used for smaller divisors.
“Probably no work has ever influenced science as a whole, and mathematics in particular, so profoundly as this modest little book [the Descriptio]. It opened the way for the abolition, once and for all, of the infinitely laborious, nay, nightmarish, processes of long division and multiplication, of finding the power and the root of numbers ...
Long division is the standard algorithm used for pen-and-paper division of multi-digit numbers expressed in decimal notation. It shifts gradually from the left to the right end of the dividend, subtracting the largest possible multiple of the divisor (at the digit level) at each stage; the multiples then become the digits of the quotient, and the final difference is then the remainder.
Presently, most division algorithms, including long division, are based on this notation or its variants, such as binary numerals. A notable exception is Newton–Raphson division, which is independent from any numeral system. The term "Euclidean division" was introduced during the 20th century as a shorthand for "division of Euclidean rings".