Program Overview
This Python program reads multiple pairs of integers from the user.
For each pair, it calculates the product without using the * operator.
The program continues until the user enters two zeros, which signals termination.
Python Code:
def multiply(a, b):
result = 0
negative = False
if b < 0:
b = -b
negative = True
for _ in range(b):
result += a
return -result if negative else result
while True:
x = int(input("Enter the first number: "))
y = int(input("Enter the second number: "))
if x == 0 and y == 0:
print("Program terminated.")
break
product = multiply(x, y)
print("The product is:", product)
Sample Output:
Enter the first number: 4
Enter the second number: 3
The product is: 12
Enter the first number: -2
Enter the second number: 5
The product is: -10
Enter the first number: 0
Enter the second number: 0
Program terminated.
Explanation:
Here’s how the program works:
- The multiply() function uses repeated addition to simulate multiplication
- If the second number is negative, the result is negated
- The loop continues until both inputs are zero
- Results are displayed using the print() function