C Exercises: Divide two integers without using multiplication, division and mod operator

Last update on August 07 2025 12:49:58 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

3. Division Without Operators Variants

Write a C program to divide two integers (dividend and divisor) without using the multiplication, division and mod operator.

Example:
Input:
dividend_num = 7
divisor_num = 2

dividend_num = -17
divisor_num = 5

dividend_num = 35
divisor_num = 7
Output:
Result: 3
Result: -3
Result: 5

Visual Presentation:

Sample Solution:

C Code:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <limits.h>

// Function to perform integer division without using the '/' operator
int divide_result(int dividend_num, int divisor_num) {
    int sign = 1; // Variable to hold the sign of the result
    long int output = 0; // Variable to store the result of division

    // Handling sign of the numbers and converting to negative if necessary
    if (dividend_num < 0) {
        sign *= -1;
    } else {
        dividend_num *= -1;
    }

    if (divisor_num < 0) {
        sign *= -1;
    } else {
        divisor_num *= -1;
    }

    // Performing division using subtraction
    while (dividend_num <= divisor_num) {
        long int temp = 0;
        long int div = divisor_num;

        // Repeatedly subtracting divisor from dividend until dividend is smaller
        while (dividend_num <= div) {
            temp += (temp + 1);
            dividend_num -= div;
            div += div;
        }

        // Checking for overflow and returning INT_MIN or INT_MAX accordingly
        if (output >= INT_MAX) {
            if (sign == -1) {
                return INT_MIN;
            } else {
                return INT_MAX;
            }
        }

        output += temp; // Adding the calculated value to the result
    }

    return output * sign; // Return the final result with proper sign
}

int main(void)
{
    // Test cases for the divide_result function
    int dividend_num = 7;
    int divisor_num = 2;
    printf("\nDividend %d, Divisor %d  ", dividend_num, divisor_num);
    printf("\nResult: %d  ", divide_result(dividend_num, divisor_num));

    dividend_num = -17;
    divisor_num = 5;
    printf("\n\nDividend %d, Divisor %d  ", dividend_num, divisor_num);
    printf("\nResult: %d  ", divide_result(dividend_num, divisor_num));

    dividend_num = 35;
    divisor_num = 7;
    printf("\n\nDividend %d, Divisor %d  ", dividend_num, divisor_num);
    printf("\nResult: %d  ", divide_result(dividend_num, divisor_num));

    return 0;
}

Sample Output:

Dividend 7, Divisior 2  
Result: 3  

Dividend -17, Divisior 5  
Result: -3  

Dividend 35, Divisior 7  
Result: 5  

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

• Write a C program to divide two integers using subtraction in a recursive manner.
• Write a C program to perform division without using multiplication, division, or modulus operators, but using addition and subtraction only.
• Write a C program to implement division using bit shifting and subtraction without direct multiplication or division.
• Write a C program to compute the quotient of two integers by simulating long division with loops and conditional checks.

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