These four properties (see e.g. [3], [7], [8]) can be used to compute the determinant
of any matrix, using Gaussian elimination. This is an algorithm that transforms any
given matrix to a triangular matrix, only by using the operations from the last three
items above. Since the effect of these operations on the determinant can be traced, the
determinant of the original matrix is known, once Gaussian elimination is performed.
It is also possible to expand a determinant along a row or column using Laplace’s
formula, which is efficient for relatively small matrices. To do this along the row i, say,
we write