21127 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Dynamic Programming, The Algorithm, Dspace
Document Summary
Topics: introduction, fundamentals of the analysis of algorithm efficiency, brute force, divide-and-conquer, sorting algorithms, transform-and-conquer, space and time tradeoff, dynamic programming, greedy technique, limitations of algorithm power. The word algorithm comes from the name of a persian author, abu ja"far. Mohammed ibn musa al khowarizmi (c. 825 a. d. ). its meaning as "any special method of solving a certain kind of problem. " But this word has taken on a special significance in computer science, where algorithm has come to refer to a precise method useable by a computer for the solution of a problem. This is what makes the notion of an algorithm different from words such as process, technique or method. An algorithm is composed of a "finite set of steps", each of which may require one or more operations. An algorithm is a "finite set of instructions or logic", written in order, to accomplish a certain predefined task.
