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Unit 5 Algorithm Part 1

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Romel Raphael Nofuente
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6 views

Unit 5 Algorithm Part 1

Uploaded by

Romel Raphael Nofuente
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Algorithm is a step-by-step procedure, which defines a set of instructions to be

executed in a certain order to get the desired output. Algorithms are generally created
independent of underlying languages, i.e. an algorithm can be implemented in more
than one programming language.
From the data structure point of view, following are some important categories of
algorithms −
 Search − Algorithm to search an item in a data structure.
 Sort − Algorithm to sort items in a certain order.
 Insert − Algorithm to insert item in a data structure.
 Update − Algorithm to update an existing item in a data structure.
 Delete − Algorithm to delete an existing item from a data structure.

Characteristics of an Algorithm
Not all procedures can be called an algorithm. An algorithm should have the following
characteristics −
 Unambiguous − Algorithm should be clear and unambiguous. 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.
 Finiteness − Algorithms must terminate after a finite number of steps.
 Feasibility − Should be feasible with the available resources.
 Independent − An algorithm should have step-by-step directions, which should
be independent of any programming code.

How to Write an Algorithm?


There are no well-defined standards for writing algorithms. Rather, it is problem and
resource dependent. Algorithms are never written to support a particular programming
code.
As we know that all programming languages share basic code constructs like loops
(do, for, while), flow-control (if-else), etc. These common constructs can be used to
write an algorithm.
We write algorithms in a step-by-step manner, but it is not always the case. Algorithm
writing is a process and is executed after the problem domain is well-defined. That is,
we should know the problem domain, for which we are designing a solution.
Example
Let's try to learn algorithm-writing by using an example.
Problem − Design an algorithm to add two numbers and display the result.
Step 1 − START
Step 2 − declare three integers a, b & c
Step 3 − define values of a & b
Step 4 − add values of a & b
Step 5 − store output of step 4 to c
Step 6 − print c
Step 7 − STOP
Algorithms tell the programmers how to code the program. Alternatively, the algorithm
can be written as −
Step 1 − START ADD
Step 2 − get values of a & b
Step 3 − c ← a + b
Step 4 − display c
Step 5 − STOP
In design and analysis of algorithms, usually the second method is used to describe an
algorithm. It makes it easy for the analyst to analyze the algorithm ignoring all
unwanted definitions. He can observe what operations are being used and how the
process is flowing.
Writing step numbers, is optional.
We design an algorithm to get a solution of a given problem. A problem can be solved
in more than one ways.

Hence, many solution algorithms can be derived for a given problem. The next step is
to analyze those proposed solution algorithms and implement the best suitable
solution.

Algorithm Analysis
Efficiency of an algorithm can be analyzed at two different stages, before
implementation and after implementation. They are the following −
 A Priori Analysis − This is a theoretical analysis of an algorithm. Efficiency of
an algorithm is measured by assuming that all other factors, for example,
processor speed, are constant and have no effect on the implementation.
 A Posterior Analysis − This is an empirical analysis of an algorithm. The
selected algorithm is implemented using programming language. This is then
executed on target computer machine. In this analysis, actual statistics like
running time and space required, are collected.
We shall learn about a priori algorithm analysis. Algorithm analysis deals with the
execution or running time of various operations involved. The running time of an
operation can be defined as the number of computer instructions executed per
operation.

Algorithm Complexity
Suppose X is an algorithm and n is the size of input data, the time and space used by
the algorithm X are the two main factors, which decide the efficiency of X.
 Time Factor − Time is measured by counting the number of key operations such
as comparisons in the sorting algorithm.
 Space Factor − Space is measured by counting the maximum memory space
required by the algorithm.
The complexity of an algorithm f(n) gives the running time and/or the storage space
required by the algorithm in terms of n as the size of input data.

Space Complexity
Space complexity of an algorithm represents the amount of memory space required by
the algorithm in its life cycle. The space required by an algorithm is equal to the sum of
the following two components −
 A fixed part that is a space required to store certain data and variables, that are
independent of the size of the problem. For example, simple variables and
constants used, program size, etc.
 A variable part is a space required by variables, whose size depends on the size
of the problem. For example, dynamic memory allocation, recursion stack
space, etc.
Space complexity S(P) of any algorithm P is S(P) = C + SP(I), where C is the fixed part
and S(I) is the variable part of the algorithm, which depends on instance characteristic
I. Following is a simple example that tries to explain the concept −
Algorithm: SUM(A, B)
Step 1 - START
Step 2 - C ← A + B + 10
Step 3 - Stop
Here we have three variables A, B, and C and one constant. Hence S(P) = 1 + 3. Now,
space depends on data types of given variables and constant types and it will be
multiplied accordingly.

Time Complexity
Time complexity of an algorithm represents the amount of time required by the
algorithm to run to completion. Time requirements can be defined as a numerical
function T(n), where T(n) can be measured as the number of steps, provided each step
consumes constant time.

computational time is T(n) = c ∗ n, where c is the time taken for the addition of two bits.
For example, addition of two n-bit integers takes n steps. Consequently, the total

Here, we observe that T(n) grows linearly as the input size increases.

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