Fibonacci’s Computation Methods vs Modern Algorithms

Abstract

In this paper we discuss some computational procedures given by Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci in his famous Liber Abaci book, and we propose their translation into a modern language for computers (C ++). Among the other we describe the method of “cross” multiplication, we evaluate its computational complexity in algorithmic terms and we show the output of a C ++ code that describes the development of the method applied to the product of two integers. In a similar way we show the operations performed on fractions introduced by Fibonacci. Thanks to the possibility to reproduce on a computer, the Fibonacci’s different computational procedures, it was possible to identify some calculation errors present in the different versions of the original text.

Keywords

• Leonardo Fibonacci
• edizione critica del Liber Abaci di Fibonacci
• matematica medievale
• programmazione C