Fastest way to determine if an integer's square root is an integer

Question

I\'m looking for the fastest way to determine if a long value is a perfect square (i.e. its square root is another integer):

1. I\'ve done it the ea

Answer 1

It should be much faster to use Newton's method to calculate the Integer Square Root, then square this number and check, as you do in your current solution. Newton's method is the basis for the Carmack solution mentioned in some other answers. You should be able to get a faster answer since you're only interested in the integer part of the root, allowing you to stop the approximation algorithm sooner.

Another optimization that you can try: If the Digital Root of a number doesn't end in 1, 4, 7, or 9 the number is not a perfect square. This can be used as a quick way to eliminate 60% of your inputs before applying the slower square root algorithm.