Modulo

In computing, the modulo operation returns the remainder or signed remainder of a division, after one number is divided by another, called the modulus of the operation.

Given two positive numbers a and n, a modulo n (often abbreviated as a mod n) is the remainder of the Euclidean division of a by n, where a is the dividend and n is the divisor.^[1]

For example, the expression "5 mod 2" evaluates to 1, because 5 divided by 2 has a quotient of 2 and a remainder of 1, while "9 mod 3" would evaluate to 0, because 9 divided by 3 has a quotient of 3 and a remainder of 0.

Although typically performed with a and n both being integers, many computing systems now allow other types of numeric operands. The range of values for an integer modulo operation of n is 0 to n − 1. a mod 1 is always 0.

When exactly one of a or n is negative, the basic definition breaks down, and programming languages differ in how these values are defined.