If L = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1) what does 1 / (x2 - x1) mean?
It means that you take the result of x2 - x1 = xdiff, and then raise it to the (p-2)th power: xdiff
p-2 mod p. (xdiff
p-1 % p would be equal to 1, while xdiff
p % p is simply xdiff) where p is the curve characteristic.
It's just a shorthand way of writing the above expression as division doesn't really exist in elliptic curves but modular inverses do.
I get this
It means that you take the result of x2 - x1 = xdiff
but I totally don't uderstand this
then raise it to the (p-2)th power: xdiffp-2 mod p. (xdiffp-1 % p would be equal to 1
I need this explained in the simplest possible terms please.
That's why I asked for a step by step breakdown (every step) would be much appreciated.