In mathematics, Ruffini's rule allows the rapi division of any polynomial by a binomial of the form x β r. It was described by Paolo Ruffini in 1809. Ruffini's rule is a special case of long division when the divisor is a linear factor. Ruffini's rule is also known as synthetic division. The Horner scheme is a fast algorithm for dividing a polynomial by a linear polynomial with Ruffini's rule. See also polynomial long division for related background.