Mutual-subtraction algorithm and its application in ancient China (Q1102926)

The ancient Chinese derived the greatest common factor of two numbers through a successive series of subtractions. The process begins with the subtraction of the two numbers and is continued with the subtraction of each set of subtrahend and the difference, the smaller number from the larger, until the subtrahend and difference are both equal. This number is called the dengshu, which means ``equal number'', and is the greatest common factor. This technique and concept led to other developments, namely, the least common multiple of integers, the common period of fractional periods, the best approximations of decimals, and the solution of congruences and indeterminate equations of the first degree.