Exponentiation by Squaring in PHP

Algorithms: Number Theory November 15, 2026 PHP

Binary exponentiation evaluates an integer power using the bits of the exponent.

php
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<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
// Exponentiation by Squaring in PHP
//
// PURPOSE
// Binary exponentiation evaluates an integer power using the bits of the exponent. Squaring
// skips the repeated multiplication used by the direct method.
//
// METHOD
// When the exponent is odd, multiply the accumulator by the current base. Halve the exponent
// and square the base for the next bit. The accumulator times the remaining power stays
// equal to the answer.
//
// COMPLEXITY
// O(log exponent) multiplications and O(1) auxiliary space; arithmetic bit costs are
// excluded.
//
// CONTRACT
// Exponent is nonnegative. Returns 1 for exponent 0, including 0 to power 0 by this
// programming convention. All intermediate products must fit.
// Public APIs infer array lengths except in C, which accepts pointer/length pairs. Vertex
// counts and matrix dimensions remain explicit. Arrays must contain signed 32-bit integers.
// Sorted order, correct tree topology, and caller-owned data-structure invariants are
// preconditions; checking them on every query would change query complexity.
// Scalar and shape checks are included. Value-range checks are included where needed to
// prevent invalid indexing or nontermination. Allocation sizes are capped at 4,000,000
// workspace entries. Arithmetic outside Python raises an error on 32-bit overflow; Python
// uses arbitrary precision. Native allocation failures propagate. In-place outputs may be
// partly updated after arithmetic failure. These are single-threaded, in-memory
// implementations.
//
// LANGUAGE DETAILS
// PHP 8.1+ on a 64-bit runtime: packed arrays, strict scalar types, read-only inputs by
// value using copy-on-write, references only for outputs, and checked 32-bit arithmetic.
// Invalid input and overflow throw exceptions. PHP arrays have higher overhead than native
// packed buffers in C/Java.
//
// EXAMPLE
// Expected return: 1024.
// Run: php example.php
// Tests for this exact source artifact run before publication. The accompanying source
// archive includes unit cases, runtime results, and source hashes.

function alg_require(bool $valid): void { if (!$valid) throw new InvalidArgumentException("invalid algorithm input"); }
function alg_checked(int|float $v): int { if ($v < -2147483648 || $v > 2147483647 || floor($v) != $v) throw new OverflowException("32-bit result overflow"); return (int)$v; }
function alg_add(int $a,int $b): int { return alg_checked($a+$b); }
function alg_sub(int $a,int $b): int { return alg_checked($a-$b); }
function alg_mul(int $a,int $b): int { return alg_checked($a*$b); }
function alg_size(int $n): int { alg_require($n>=0 && $n<=4000000); return $n; }

function power(int $base, int $exponent): int {
    alg_require(($exponent >= 0));
    $result = 1;
    while (($exponent > 0)) {
        if ((($exponent % 2) == 1)) {
            $result = alg_mul($result, $base);
        }
        $exponent = intdiv($exponent, 2);
        if (($exponent > 0)) {
            $base = alg_mul($base, $base);
        }
    }
    return $result;
}

$base = 2;
$exponent = 10;
$result = power($base, $exponent);
echo $result, PHP_EOL;