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Generalities on algorithms

What is the role of algorithms?

First, we can think of them as a way to play and to do cerebral exercises.

Second, algorithms are essential in computer science or engineering, or in IT more generally. In fact they are everywhere, but what is an algorithm? According to Cormen et al., an algorithm transforms an input into an output. The algorithm is a computation process. For example, an algorithm can take a set of n digits randomly ordered as an input and transform that set into another set where those digits are ordered by increasing order.

What are the applications of algorithms? For example, bioinformatics use algorithms to manipulate data about DNA.

Sometimes a programmer must choose between different algorithms and she/he must use the one that is « the best », which is sometimes difficult.

Algorithms are coupled with data structures which is the way of dealing with data management.

Sometimes there are no algorithms that satisfies a way to resolve a problem. In this case, a programmer must « create » an algorithm that processes the input into an output as best as possible.

We can see the potential of algorithms with big values of n. For example an algorithms takes n² of time with the programmer being very good, while the other takes nlgn of time with poor compiler. We see the second case is better and takes less time.

Finally, algorithms are everywhere on a computer, as well as on hardware.