Euclid's Algorithm

In number theory, the Euclidean algorithm (also called Euclid's algorithm) is an algorithm to determine the greatest common divisor (GCD) of two elements of any Euclidean domain (for example, the integers). Its major significance is that it does not require factoring the two integers, and it is also significant in that it is one of the oldest algorithms known, dating back to the ancient Greeks.
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<algorithm> (Or "Euclidean Algorithm") An algorithm for finding the greatest common divisor 12, 12 so the GCD of 132 and 168 is 12.
This algorithm requires only subtraction and comparison operations but can take a number of steps proportional to the difference between the initial numbers (e.g. gcd(1, 1001) will take 1000 steps).
(1997-06-30)