Algorithms

CS 202
Epp section ???
Aaron Bloomfield

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 What is an algorithm?
An algorithm is “a finite set of precise
instructions for performing a computation or for
solving a problem”
 A program is one type of algorithm
All programs are algorithms
Not all algorithms are programs!
 Directions to somebody’s house is an algorithm
 A recipe for cooking a cake is an algorithm
 The steps to compute the cosine of 90° is an
algorithm

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Some algorithms are harder than
others
Some algorithms are easy
 Finding the largest (or smallest) value in a list
 Finding a specific value in a list
Some algorithms are a bit harder
 Sorting a list
Some algorithms are very hard
 Finding the shortest path between Miami and Seattle
Some algorithms are essentially impossible
 Factoring large composite numbers

In section 2.2, we’ll see how to rate how “hard”

algorithms are
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Algorithm 1: Maximum element
Given a list, how do we find the maximum
element in the list?

To express the algorithm, we’ll use

pseudocode
 Pseudocode is kinda like a programming
language, but not really

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Algorithm 1: Maximum element
Algorithm for finding the maximum
element in a list:

procedure max (a1, a2, …, an: integers)

max := a1
for i := 2 to n
if max < ai then max := ai

{max is the largest element}

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Algorithm 1: Maximum element
procedure max (a1, a2, …, an: integers)
max := a1
for i := 2 to n
if max < ai then max := ai max 9
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Maximum element running time
How long does this take?

If the list has n elements, worst case

scenario is that it takes n “steps”
 Here, a step is considered a single step
through the list

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 Properties of algorithms
Algorithms generally share a set of properties:
 Input: what the algorithm takes in as input
 Output: what the algorithm produces as output
 Definiteness: the steps are defined precisely
 Correctness: should produce the correct output
 Finiteness: the steps required should be finite
 Effectiveness: each step must be able to be
performed in a finite amount of time
 Generality: the algorithm should be applicable to all
problems of a similar form

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 Searching algorithms
Given a list, find a specific element in the
list

We will see two types

 Linear search
a.k.a. sequential search
 Binary search

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 Algorithm 2: Linear search
Given a list, find a specific element in the list
 List does NOT have to be sorted!

procedure linear_search (x: integer; a1, a2, …, an:

integers)
i := 1
while ( i ≤ n and x ≠ ai )
i := i + 1
if i ≤ n then location := i
else location := 0

{location is the subscript of the term that equals x, or it

is 0 if x is not found}
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Algorithm 2: Linear search, take 1
procedure linear_search (x: integer; a1, a2, …, an: integers)
i := 1
while ( i ≤ n and x ≠ ai )
i := i + 1 x 3
if i ≤ n then location := i
location 8
else location := 0
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Algorithm 2: Linear search, take 2
procedure linear_search (x: integer; a1, a2, …, an: integers)
i := 1
while ( i ≤ n and x ≠ ai )
i := i + 1 x 11
if i ≤ n then location := i
location 0
else location := 0
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 Linear search running time
How long does this take?

If the list has n elements, worst case

scenario is that it takes n “steps”
 Here, a step is considered a single step
through the list

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 Algorithm 3: Binary search
Given a list, find a specific element in the list
 List MUST be sorted!
Each time it iterates through, it cuts the list in half

procedure binary_search (x: integer; a1, a2, …, an: increasing integers)

i := 1 { i is left endpoint of search interval }
j := n { j is right endpoint of search interval }
while i < j
begin
m := (i+j)/2 { m is the point in the middle }
if x > am then i := m+1
else j := m
end
if x = ai then location := i
else location := 0

{location is the subscript of the term that equals x, or it is 0 if x is not found}

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Algorithm 3: Binary search, take 1
procedure binary_search (x: integer; a1, a2, …, an: increasing integers)
i := 1 while i < j if x = ai then location := i
j := n begin else location := 0
m := (i+j)/2
if x > am then i := m+1 x 14
else j := m
end location 7
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Algorithm 3: Binary search, take 2
procedure binary_search (x: integer; a1, a2, …, an: increasing integers)
i := 1 while i < j if x = ai then location := Ii
j := n begin else location := 0
m := (i+j)/2
if x > am then i := m+1 x 15
else j := m
end location 0
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 Algorithm 3: Binary search
A somewhat alternative view of what a
binary search does…

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 Binary search running time
How long does this take (worst case)?

If the list has 8 elements

 It takes 3 steps
If the list has 16 elements
 It takes 4 steps
If the list has 64 elements
 It takes 6 steps

If the list has n elements

 It takes log2 n steps

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 Sorting algorithms
Given a list, put it into some order
 Numerical, lexicographic, etc.

We will see two types

 Bubble sort
 Insertion sort

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 Algorithm 4: Bubble sort
One of the most simple sorting algorithms
 Also one of the least efficient
It takes successive elements and “bubbles” them
up the list

procedure bubble_sort (a1, a2, …, an)

for i := 1 to n-1
for j := 1 to n-i
if aj > aj+1
then interchange aj and aj+1
{ a1, …, an are in increasing order }
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 Algorithm 4: Bubble sort
An example using physical objects…

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 Bubble sort running time
Bubble sort algorithm:
for i := 1 to n-1
for j := 1 to n-i
if aj > aj+1
then interchange aj and aj+1

Outer for loop does n-1 iterations

Inner for loop does
 n-1 iterations the first time
 n-2 iterations the second time
 …
 1 iteration the last time
Total: (n-1) + (n-2) + (n-3) + … + 2 + 1 = (n2-n)/2
 We can say that’s “about” n2 time

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 Algorithm 5: Insertion sort
Another simple (and inefficient) algorithm
It starts with a list with one element, and inserts new elements into
their proper place in the sorted part of the list

procedure insertion_sort (a1, a2, …, an)

for j := 2 to n take successive elements in the list
begin
i := 1 find where that element should be
while aj > ai in the sorted portion of the list
i := i +1
m := aj
move all elements in the sorted
for k := 0 to j-i-1
portion of the list that are greater
aj-k := aj-k-1 than the current element up by one
ai := m
end { a1, a2, …, an are sorted }
put the current element into it’s proper place in the sorted portion of the list25
 Insertion sort running time
for j := 2 to n begin
i := 1
while aj > ai
i := i +1
m := aj
for k := 0 to j-i-1
aj-k := aj-k-1
ai := m
end { a1, a2, …, an are sorted }
Outer for loop runs n-1 times
In the inner for loop:
 Worst case is when the while keeps i at 1, and the for loop runs lots of
times
 If i is 1, the inner for loop runs 1 time (k goes from 0 to 0) on the first
iteration, 1 time on the second, up to n-2 times on the last iteration
Total is 1 + 2 + … + n-2 = (n-1)(n-2)/2
 We can say that’s “about” n2 time
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Comparison of running times
Searches
 Linear: n steps
 Binary: log2 n steps
 Binary search is about as fast as you can get

Sorts
 Bubble: n2 steps
 Insertion: n2 steps
 There are other, more efficient, sorting techniques
In principle, the fastest are heap sort, quick sort, and merge
sort
These each take take n * log2 n steps
In practice, quick sort is the fastest, followed by merge sort

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