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Flowchart of using successive subtractions to find the greatest common divisor of number r and s. In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm (/ ˈ æ l ɡ ə r ɪ ð əm / ⓘ) is a finite sequence of mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. [1]
The NIST Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures [1] is a reference work maintained by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. It defines a large number of terms relating to algorithms and data structures. For algorithms and data structures not necessarily mentioned here, see list of algorithms and list of data structures.
An algorithm is fundamentally a set of rules or defined procedures that is typically designed and used to solve a specific problem or a broad set of problems.. Broadly, algorithms define process(es), sets of rules, or methodologies that are to be followed in calculations, data processing, data mining, pattern recognition, automated reasoning or other problem-solving operations.
Soft computing is an umbrella term used to describe types of algorithms that produce approximate solutions to unsolvable high-level problems in computer science. Typically, traditional hard-computing algorithms heavily rely on concrete data and mathematical models to produce solutions to problems.
Deterministic algorithms are by far the most studied and familiar kind of algorithm, as well as one of the most practical, since they can be run on real machines efficiently. Formally, a deterministic algorithm computes a mathematical function ; a function has a unique value for any input in its domain , and the algorithm is a process that ...
For examples of this specification-method applied to the addition algorithm "m+n" see Algorithm examples. Sipser begins by defining '"algorithm" as follows: "Informally speaking, an algorithm is a collection of simple instructions for carrying out some task.
In computer science, the analysis of algorithms is the process of finding the computational complexity of algorithms—the amount of time, storage, or other resources needed to execute them. Usually, this involves determining a function that relates the size of an algorithm's input to the number of steps it takes (its time complexity ) or the ...
In computer science, best, worst, and average cases of a given algorithm express what the resource usage is at least, at most and on average, respectively. Usually the resource being considered is running time, i.e. time complexity, but could also be memory or some other resource. Best case is the function which performs the minimum number of ...