An algorithm is a method for solving a problem, but a formula is a sequence of numbers and symbols corresponding to a word in a language. The quadratic formula is an algorithm, because it is a method for solving quadratic equations. Algorithms may not even involve math, but formulas almost exclusively use numbers.

A step-by-step solution. Each step has clear instructions. Like a recipe. Long Division is another example of an algorithm: when you follow the steps you get the answer.

How to build an algorithm in six steps

1. Step 1: Determine the goal of the algorithm.
2. Step 2: Access historic and current data.
3. Step 3: Choose the right models.
4. Step 4: Fine tuning.
5. Step 5: Visualize your results.
6. Step 6: Running your algorithm continuously.

Computer algorithms work via input and output. They take the input and apply each step of the algorithm to that information to generate an output. For example, a search engine is an algorithm that takes a search query as an input and searches its database for items relevant to the words in the query.

Google Maps is based on a very simple but incredibly effective algorithm: the Dijkstra algorithm. It takes its name from its inventor, Edsger Dijkstra, one of the pioneering founders of modern computing.

We can use algorithms to describe ordinary activities in our everyday life. For example, we can consider a recipe as an algorithm for cooking a particular food. The algorithm is described in Steps 1-3. Our input is the specified quantities of ingredients, what type of pan we are using and what topping we want.

Wrap Up

1. Have a good understanding of the basics.
2. Clearly understand what happens in an algorithm.
3. Work out the steps of an algorithm with examples.
4. Understand complexity analysis thoroughly.
5. Try to implement the algorithms on your own.
6. Keep note of important things so you can refer later.

Algorithms is probably one of the harder courses in your comp sci. degree, but it’s totally doable. What makes it so difficult compared to other courses is how much intuition is involved in designing/analyzing algorithms.

A pseudo-code uses natural language or compact mathematical notation to write algorithms. The main difference between algorithm and pseudocode is that an algorithm is a step by step procedure to solve a given problem while a pseudocode is a method of writing an algorithm.

Characteristics of an Algorithm Each of its steps (or phases), and their inputs/outputs should be clear and must lead to only one meaning. Input − An algorithm should have 0 or more well-defined inputs. Output − An algorithm should have 1 or more well-defined outputs, and should match the desired output.

1: A machine learning algorithm consists of three parts: a learning module, a model and a classification module.

Regardless of the context in which they are used, algorithms are essentially problem solvers – their purpose is to solve and often automate a solution to a particular problem. Introductory textbooks on algorithms tend to outline their subject broadly, defining an algorithm as ‘a set of steps to accomplish a task’ 3.