CG: n
CT: An algorithm is a set of steps for accomplishing a task or solving a problem. Typically, algorithms are executed by computers, but we also rely on algorithms in our daily lives. Each time we follow a particular step-by-step process, like making coffee in the morning or tying our shoelaces, we are in fact following an algorithm.
In the context of computer science, an algorithm is a mathematical process for solving a problem using a finite number of steps. Algorithms are a key component of any computer program and are the driving force behind various systems and applications, such as navigation systems, search engines, and music streaming services.
S: SCRIBBR – https://www.scribbr.com/ai-tools/what-is-an-algorithm/ (last access: 27 January 2025).
N: 1. 1690s, “Arabic system of computation,” from French algorithme, refashioned (under mistaken connection with Greek arithmos “number”) from Old French algorisme “the Arabic numeral system” (13c.), from Medieval Latin algorismus, a mangled transliteration of Arabic al-Khwarizmi “native of Khwarazm” (modern Khiva in Uzbekistan), surname of the mathematician whose works introduced sophisticated mathematics to the West (see algebra). The earlier form in Middle English was algorism (early 13c.), from Old French. The meaning broadened to any method of computation; from mid-20c. especially with reference to computing.
- Eponym from Persian mathematician Muhammad al-Khwarizmi who was born way back in around AD780.
2. Systematic procedure that produces—in a finite number of steps—the answer to a question or the solution of a problem. The name derives from the Latin translation, Algoritmi de numero Indorum, of the 9th-century Muslim mathematician al-Khwarizmi’s arithmetic treatise “Al-Khwarizmi Concerning the Hindu Art of Reckoning.”
3. Sometimes an algorithm cannot exist for solving an infinite class of problems, particularly when some further restriction is made upon the accepted method. For instance, two problems from Euclid’s time requiring the use of only a compass and a straightedge (unmarked ruler)—trisecting an angle and constructing a square with an area equal to a given circle—were pursued for centuries before they were shown to be impossible. At the turn of the 20th century, the influential German mathematician David Hilbert proposed 23 problems for mathematicians to solve in the coming century.
4. Mathematics: algorithm, algorism (less frequent).
- A specified mathematical process for computation.
- Term and definition standardized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1993.
5. Artificial Intelligence; IT Security; Computer Programs and Programming: algorithm.
- A finite ordered set of well-defined rules for the solution of a problem.
- Term standardized by CSA International and ISO/IEC [International Electrotechnical Commission].
6. Diagnostic Procedures (Medicine): algorithm.
- An explicit and step-by-step protocol to be followed in solving a health care problem.
- The set of rules can be expressed in algebraic notation, in computer programs or in graphic form
S: 1. Etymonline – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=algorithm (last access: 27 January 2025); BBC – https://www.bbc.com/videos/cz7e2l90jnno (last access: 29 January 2025). 2 & 3. EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/science/algorithm (last access: 27 January 2025). 4 to 6. TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=ALGORITHM&index=alt&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 29 January 2025).
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CR: artificial intelligence, asymmetric algorithm, computer science, genetic algorithm.
