Trial Division

A brute-force method of finding a divisor of an integer n by simply plugging in one or a set of integers and seeing if they divide n. Repeated application of trial division to obtain the complete prime factorization of a number is called direct search factorization. An individual integer being tested is called a trial divisor.

 

Direct Search Factorization, Division, Prime Factorization




References

Flannery, S. and Flannery, D. In Code: A Mathematical Journey. London: Profile Books, pp. 36-37, 2000.