Question

Is there an algorithm for accurately multiplying two arbitrarily long integers together? The language I am working with is limited to 64-bit unsigned integer length (maximum integer size of 18446744073709551615). Realistically, I would like to be able to do this by breaking up each number, processing them somehow using the unsigned 64-bit integers, and then being able to put them back together in to a string (which would solve the issue of multiplied result storage).

Any ideas?

Answer 1

Most languages have functions or libraries that do this, usually called a Bignum library (GMP is a good one.)

If you want to do it yourself, I would do it the same way that people do long multiplication on paper. To do this you could either work with strings containing the number, or do it in binary using bitwise operations.

Example:

  45  x67  ---  315 +270 ----  585 

Or in binary:

   101   x101   ----    101   000 +101 ------  11001 

Edit: After doing it in binary I realized that it would be much simpler (and faster of course) to code using bitwise operations instead of strings containing the base-10 numbers. I’ve edited my binary multiplying example to show a pattern: for each 1-bit in the bottom number, add the top number, bit-shifted left the position of the 1-bit times to a variable. At the end, that variable will contain the product.

To store the product, you’ll have to have two 64-bit numbers and imagine one of them being the first 64 bits and the other one the second 64 bits of the product. You’ll have to write code that carries the addition from bit 63 of the second number to bit 0 of the first number.