ABSTRACT
In most cases division is slower than multiplication and occurs less frequently. Division is essentially the inverse of multiplication, where the 2n-bit dividend corresponds to the 2n-bit product; the n-bit divisor corresponds to the n-bit multiplicand; and the n-bit quotient corresponds to the n-bit multiplier. The speed of the sequential shift-add/subtract division algorithm can be increased by modifying the algorithm to avoid restoring the partial remainder in the event that a negative partial remainder occurs. The method of nonrestoring division allows both a positive partial remainder and a negative partial remainder to be utilized in the division process. SRT division was developed independently by Sweeney, Robertson, and Tocher at approximately the same time as a way to increase the speed of a divide operation. It was intended to improve radix-2 floating-point arithmetic by shifting over strings of 0s or 1s in much the same way as the Booth algorithm shifts over strings of 0s in a multiply operation.
