How to Design an Algorithm

Algorithm Design
Afaq Mansoor Khan

Algorithm
An algorithm is a plan, a logical step-by-step process for solving a problem.
Algorithms are normally written as a flowchart or in pseudocode.

Algorithm Design
Since modern computing uses algorithms much more frequently than at any
other point in human history, a field has grown up around their design,
analysis, and refinement.
The field of algorithm design requires a strong mathematical and computer
science background. It offers a growing number of highly compensated career
options, as the need for more sophisticated algorithms continues to increase.

From Small Tasks to Big Data
A simple task can be solved by an algorithm generated with a few minutes, or
at most a morning’s work. However, arriving at problems so complicated that
they have stymied mathematicians for years — or even centuries.
Modern computer confronts problems at this level in such areas as cyber-
security, as well as big data handling — the efficient and thorough sorting of
sets of data so large that even a standard computer would be unable to
process them in a timely fashion.

From Small Tasks to Big Data
Examples of big data might include “every article on Wikipedia,” “every
archived web page going back to 1998,” or “the last six months of online
purchases made in America.”

Understanding the Problem
Before an algorithm can be designed, it is important to check that the problem
is completely understood.
● What are the inputs into the problem?
● What will be the outputs of the problem?
● In what order do instructions need to be carried out?
● What decisions need to be made in the problem?
● Are any areas of the problem repeated?
Once these basic things are understood, it is time to design the algorithm.

Designing an Algorithm
The key to any problem-solving task is to guide your thought process. The
most useful thing to do is keep asking ‘What if we did it this way?’
Exploring different ways of solving a problem can help to find the best way to
solve it.
“When designing an algorithm, consider if there is more than one way of
solving the problem.”

Designing an Algorithm
When designing an algorithm there are two main areas to look at:
● the big picture - What is the final goal?
● the individual stages – What hurdles need to be overcome on the way to
the goal?

Flowcharts
A flowchart is a diagram that represents a set of instructions. Flowcharts
normally use standard symbols to represent the different types of instructions.
These symbols are used to construct the flowchart and show the step-by-step
solution to the problem.

Using Flowcharts
Flowcharts can be used to plan out programs. Planning a program that asks
people what the best subject they take is, would look like this as a flowchart:

Algorithm Engineering
When the design of new algorithms is applied in practical terms, the related
discipline is known as algorithm engineering.
The two functions are frequently carried out by the same people, although
larger organizations employ specialized designers and engineers, given their
level of need for new and specialized algorithms.

Algorithm Engineering
Like the design process, algorithm engineering frequently involves computer
science accreditation, with a strong background in mathematics: where they
exist as a separate, specialized profession.
Algorithm engineers take the conceptual ideas of designers and create
processes from them that a computer will understand.

“An Algorithm is like a recipe”
- Unknown

How to Design an Algorithm

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How to Design an Algorithm