This makes sure that none of the quantities being calculated will overflow while still returning the same answer. Where x is min and y is max, the midpoint is:

This makes sure that none of the quantities being calculated will overflow while still returning the same answer. Where x is min and y is max, the midpoint is: (x+y)/2 = x+(y-x)/2 x+y = 2x+y-x x+y=x+y