Editing Division (mathematics) (section)

== Computing ==
{{main|Long division|Division algorithm}}

===Manual methods===
Division is often introduced through the notion of "sharing out" a set of objects, for example a pile of lollies, into a number of equal portions. Distributing the objects several at a time in each round of sharing to each portion leads to the idea of '[[Chunking (division)|chunking]]'{{snd}} a form of division where one repeatedly subtracts multiples of the divisor from the dividend itself.

By allowing one to subtract more multiples than what the partial remainder allows at a given stage, more flexible methods, such as the bidirectional variant of chunking, can be developed as well.

More systematically and more efficiently, two integers can be divided with pencil and paper with the method of [[short division]], if the divisor is small, or [[long division]], if the divisor is larger. If the dividend has a [[fraction (mathematics)|fractional]] part (expressed as a [[decimal fraction]]), one can continue the procedure past the ones place as far as desired. If the divisor has a fractional part, one can restate the problem by moving the decimal to the right in both numbers until the divisor has no fraction, which can make the problem easier to solve (e.g., 10/2.5 = 100/25 = 4).

Division can be calculated with an [[abacus]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kojima|first=Takashi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tidyAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA11|title=Advanced Abacus: Theory and Practice|date=2012-07-09|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=978-1-4629-0365-8|language=en}}</ref>

[[Logarithm tables]] can be used to divide two numbers, by subtracting the two numbers' logarithms, then looking up the [[antilogarithm]] of the result.

Division can be calculated with a [[slide rule]] by aligning the divisor on the C scale with the dividend on the D scale. The quotient can be found on the D scale where it is aligned with the left index on the C scale. The user is responsible, however, for mentally keeping track of the decimal point.

===By computer===
Modern [[calculator]]s and [[computer]]s compute division either by methods similar to long division, or by faster methods; see [[Division algorithm]].

In [[modular arithmetic]] (modulo a prime number) and for [[real numbers]], nonzero numbers have a [[modular multiplicative inverse|multiplicative inverse]]. In these cases, a division by {{mvar|x}} may be computed as the product by the multiplicative inverse of {{mvar|x}}. This approach is often associated with the faster methods in computer arithmetic.