Algorithms and Data Structures
Algorithm -- briefly, is a step-by-step instruction that as a whole complete a process. Usually this process solves problems such as sorting , finding data, and many other problems. It can be thought of as a recipe, with each ingredient contributing to the whole food, thus solving your problem of hunger :)
Examples of Algorithms edit
Linear searching algorithm : A linear searching has O(n) time complexity. Lets step through a process of creating an algorithm for this problem.
Steps:
- We need a way to check through every element in the data. This can be done through a loop. A loop (ex, for loop , while loop) enables the programmer to run a block of code multiple times
- Each iteration we need to check if the value that we are searching for matches. If so then return that index.
- handle error, like what happens if the value we are searching for is not there ?
Since we have the step-by-step process written. We are able to effectively write an algorithm that follows the process above.
This function is written in C++.
int searchLinearly( int * Array, int MaxSize, int searchValue)
{
//Step # 1 - loop through every element if needed
for(int i = 0; i < MaxSize; i++)
{
if( Array[i] == searchValue ) // Step # 2 -- search value
return i;
}
return -1; //Step # 3 -- handle error if value not found
}
So as you can see there is a step-by-step process in creating an algorithm. The above code could be written in template version but I chose not to for simplicity sake.
See also edit
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Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Algorithms. |
Learning readings edit
Wikipedia edit
Data Structure Article edit
Coming soon.