Design and Analysis of Algorithm

Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui

Department of Computer Science

COMSATS University, Islamabad
 Who is who ?

■ Course Title: Design and Analysis of Algorithm

■ Course Instructor: Tanveer A. Siddiqui
■ Master of Science(Applied Mathematics)
■ Master of Science(Computer Science)
■ Master of Philosophy(Artificial Intelligence)
■ Research Interest
■ Algorithms and Graph Theory

■ Computer Vision/Image Processing

■ Machine Learning

■ Pattern Recognition

■ Natural Language Processing

Department of Computer Science

 Professional Experience

■ October 2001 – December 2002

■ Visiting Faculty Member in LEADS institute of
Management Science Lahore(Now LEADS University)
■ January 2003 – September 2004
■ Lecturer in Standard College of Commerce Lahore
■ October 2004 – March 2006
■ Adjunct Faculty Member in Department of Computer
Science GC University Lahore
■ January 2005 –October 2007
■ E- Lecturer in Virtual University of Pakistan.

Department of Computer Science

 Professional Experience

■ November 2007 January 2014

■ Assistant Professor in Department of Computer
Science COMSATS Institute of Information
Technology, Abbottabad.
■ February 2014 to December 2015
■ Assistant Professor in Department of Computer
Science COMSATS Institute of Information
Technology, Vehari.
■ January 2015 to Date
■ Assistant Professor in Department of Computer
Science COMSATS Institute of Information
Technology, Islamabad.

Department of Computer Science

 The Role of
Algorithms
in Computing

Department of Computer Science

 Motivating Discussion

■ Let us start with a basic question:

■ Given a certain problem how will you solve
this through computer?
■ By developing its algorithm
■ Before a computer can perform a task, it must have
an algorithm that tells it what to do.
■ The Role of Algorithms in Computing:
■ An algorithm is a great problem-solving
tool(series of instructions to solve a problem)

Department of Computer Science 6

 Motivating Discussion

▪ What is primary job of a software engineer?

▪ To develop a software
▪ What is software?
▪ Programs that run on a device(e.g., computer).
▪ What is program?
▪ Program = Data + Logic

Data

Department of Computer Science 7

 Motivating Discussion

▪ How do you write an efficient Program?

▪ Since a program consist of data and logic, so
the efficiency of a program depends on:
▪ How you specify your input?
▪ How you solve the given problem?

Department of Computer Science 8

 Motivating Discussion

▪ How to write an efficient Program?

▪ Since a program consist of data and logic, so
the efficiency of a program depends on:
▪How you specify your input?
▪ To specify input for efficient program, we choose
appropriate data structure.
▪ How you solve the given problem?
▪ To solve a given problem efficiently, we design
algorithm by selecting appropriate algorithmic
designing technique.
■ Now we can redefine our definition of Program as:
■ Program = Data Structure + Algorithm
Department of Computer Science 9
 Motivating Discussion

■ Program = Data Structure + Algorithm

■ So,
■ A good understanding of algorithms is essential
for a good understanding of the most basic
element of computer science: Programming.

Department of Computer Science 10

 UP-SHOT

▪ So, we can say:

Algorithms are fundamental to

computer science.
Computer science is the study of
problems, problem-solving, and
the solutions that come out of the
problem-solving process.
Given a problem, a computer scientist’s goal is to
develop an algorithm.
Department of Computer Science 11
 Different Areas of an Algorithm study

■ The focus of this subject is :

1. How to design good
algorithms?
■ Designing an algorithm is an art which can never be fully
automated.
■ This section includes study of different algorithm design
techniques which helps the designer to devise new and
helpful algorithms.
2. How to validate algorithms?
■ Once an algorithm is devised, it is necessary to show that it
computes the correct answer for all possible legal inputs.
3. How to analyze algorithms?
■ This section includes task of determining how much
computing time and storage an algorithm requires.

Department of Computer Science * 12

 Objectives of this course

■ The course “Design and analysis of algorithms” has

essentially two objectives:
1. Familiarize students with existing algorithms
■ This objective deals with analysis

2. To equip the students with the necessary tools,

techniques, and confidence required in solving a non-
textbook problem
■ This objective concerned with the design of
algorithms

Department of Computer Science * 13

 What should you know to learn this subject?

■ As we may realize design anything such as computers,

cars, cloths is an art.
■ In some sense we must be creative, but it can't be
taught, in other sense there are very well-defined design
techniques which are used for these purposes.
■ Our goal is to study these techniques and to apply later in
our life.
■ Therefore, we need some prerequisites to study these
techniques. These are given as follows.
■ Familiar with basic programming languages (such as C, C++, Java
etc.)
■ Knowledge on data structure
■ Some amount of knowledge on discrete mathematics

Department of Computer Science * 14

Our journey(road map) towards these objectives

Department of Computer Science

 Our journey: PART 1 DESIGN
Fundamentals Concept, Properties, The Role of Algorithms in
of Computing, Algorithm Design & Analysis Process, CLO-1
Algorithmic Iterative Algorithm Design Issues, Top-Down Design,
Problem Design using Recursion.
Solving
Brute Force (BF) Designing Algorithms for Sorting problem,
Technique: Pattern Matching, Closest-Pair, and Convex-
Hull Problem.
Decrease and Conquer Designing Algorithm for Sorting Problem,
Technique: Graph Traversal, Topological Sorting,
Algorithms for Generating Combinatorial
Objects, Decrease by -a-Constant Factor
Algorithms, Variable Size Decrease Algorithms.

Design Divide and Conquer Designing Algorithms for Sorting Problem,

Technique: Closest-Pair, Convex-Hull Problem, and Matrix
Paradigm Multiplication Problem.
Transform and Transformation to more convenient instance, CLO-2
Conquer Technique: Transformation to different representation, and
Problem Reduction.
Dynamic Component & Properties; Designing Algorithms
Programming (DP) for Edit Distance; Longest Common
Technique: Subsequence (LCS); Knapsack; and Matrix
Chain Multiplication Problems.
Department of Computer Science
Greedy Approach: Coin Change Problem, and Algorithm for Data
Our journey: PART 2 ANALYSIS

Correctness of Pre-conditions, Post-conditions, Loop Invariant, CLO 3

Algorithms Correctness of Iterative & Recursive Algorithms.
RAM Model, Asymptotic Notations, Worst, Best CLO 4

Analysis of & Average Case Behavior of Algorithms;

Algorithm Complexity Classes; Solving Recurrence
Relations: Substitution Method, Recurrence
Tree Method, Master Method and Time & Space
Tradeoffs.
Computability Computability: The Complexity Classes P & NP; CLO 5
and Introduction to NP Complete Problems.

Department of Computer Science

 Assessment Plan
Assessment
CLO-1 CLO-2 CLO-3 CLO-4 CLO-5
Tools
Quizzes Quiz 1 Quiz 2 Quiz 3 Quiz 4
Assignment Assignment
Assignment 3 Assignment 4
s 1&2
Mid Term Mid Term Mid Term
- -
Exam Exam Exam
Final Term
Final Term Exam
Exam
Blooms
Sr.# Course Learning Outcomes Taxonomy
Learning Level
Demonstrate fundamental concepts of and algorithm along
CLO-1 Understanding
with an algorithmic approach to a given problem.
CLO-2 Design new algorithms for different computational problems. Creating
Prove correctness of an algorithm using loop invariant and
CLO-3 Applying
induction.
Analyze best, average, and worst-case behaviors of an
CLO-4 Analyzing
algorithm.
Explain the concept of various complexity classes with
CLO-5 Understanding
examples.
Department of Computer Science 18
 Logistics

■ Web: CUOnline
■ Textbook: See next slide
■ Grading on 100

Assignmen Mid Term Terminal

Quizzes Total
ts Exam Exam
15 10 25 50 100
■ Keys to success
■ Don’t absent in class(80% Attendance)
■ Respect due date(Submit your assignment on due date,10%
marks will be deducted on late submission)
■ Start early, Don’t fall behind, Seek help from Instructor
■ Don’t cheat

Department of Computer Science

 Text
Books

Department of Computer Science

 Reference Books

Department of Computer Science

 Reference Books

Department of Computer Science

 Teaching-Learning strategy

■ How to approach towards this subject?

■ Pedagogy
What I hear, I forget.
What I see, I remember.
What I do, I understand.
— Confucius

Department of Computer Science

 Teaching-Learning strategy

■ This course is oriented towards :

■ Active-learning:
■ I will not be simply lecturing.

■ For any topic, I will mostly pose some questions.

■ Answering these question will lead you a meaning full
learning.
■ You will have to do a lot of thinking during lecture!

■ Collaborative-learning:
■ You will do small group discussion activities.

■ You will teach and learn from each other!

Department of Computer Science

 Academic Honesty

■ I will not tolerate academic dishonesty.

■ You must solve assignments

entirely on your own.
■ You are encouraged to work together on the
assignments but copying in any form or submitting
work done by others as your own is a violation of
the Honor Code.
■ You should be able to design an
algorithm using Pseudocode.

Department of Computer Science

 Today Covered

After completing this lecture, you will be able to

know
■ What this course is about?
■ Origin of word: Algorithm
■ What is algorithm?
■ Algorithm vs Program
■ Characteristics of an algorithm
■ How to represents an algorithm?
■ Structured description of Algorithm
■ Pseudo code
■ Flow charts
■ Examples
Department of Computer Science
 Let us Start our
Journey

Department of Computer Science

Lecture No 1

Introduction

(What, Why and Where. . .)

Department of Computer Science 28

 ORIGION/
HISTORY

Department of Computer Science

 Origin of word: Algorithm

■ The term algorithm is a corruption of the name of

the muslim author Abu Ja’far Mohammad ibn Musaal-
Khowarizmi.
■ Originally, the word algorism
was used for the rules for
performing arithmetic using decimal notation.
■ Much of al-Khwarizmi’s work was written in a book
titled al Kitab al-mukhatasar fi hisab al-
jabrwa’l-muqabalah

Department of Computer Science

 Algorithm

■ An algorithm is an exact specification of how to solve a

computational problem
■ Algorithms are the threads that tie together most of the
subfields of computer science.
■ Something magically beautiful happens when a
sequence of commands and decisions is able to
marshal a collection of data into organized patterns or
to discover hidden structure. Donald
Knuth

Department of Computer Science

 CONCEPT
WHAT

Department of Computer Science

 Algorithms: Informal Introduction

Recipe for baking a cake….

Ingredients: Input
■ 2 sticks butter
■ 2 cups flour
■ 1 cup sugar
■ 4 eggs
■ 1 cup milk
■ 1 tsp baking powder
■ Cocoa powder (1/2 pound)
Procedure: Metho
Mix the sugar,
d baking powder and flour, mix in beaten
eggs, melted butter and bake at 325F for 40 mins.
Result: Output

Department of Computer Science

 What is Algorithm?

■ What is binary equivalent of decimal integer 75?

■ 1001011
■ How can we convert this number into its
binary equivalent?
■ We have a procedure for this.
■ Let us see how we convert 75 into binary

Department of Computer Science

 Convert 75 to binary

2 75 remainder
2 37 1
2 18 1
2 9 0
2 4 1
2 2 0
2 1 0
0 1

1001011
Department of Computer Science
 Procedure for Decimal to Binary conversion
1. Write the decimal number
2. Divide by 2; write quotient and remainder
3. Repeat step 2 on the quotient; keep on repeating until the
quotient becomes zero
4. Write all remainder digits in the reverse order (last remainder
first) to form the final result
■ What is it?
■ A procedural solution to given problem
■ Briefly speaking, algorithms are procedural
solutions to problems
■ Algorithms are not answers, but rather
precisely defined procedures for getting
answers. (e.g., sorting 3 numbers)
Department of Computer Science
 Formal
Definition

Department of Computer Science

 What is Algorithm?

■ An algorithm is a well-defined computational

procedure that takes some value or set of values
(collection of elements) as input and produces some
value or set of values(collection of elements) as
output.

■ A computer algorithm is a detailed step-by-step

method for solving a problem by using a computer.

Department of Computer Science

 What is Algorithm?

■ An algorithm is a sequence of unambiguous

instructions for solving a computational problem, i.e.,
for obtaining a required output for any legitimate
input in a finite amount of time.

problem

algorithm

input “computer” output

Department of Computer Science

Example: Largest integer among five integer

Is there a
relationship
between
input and
output?

Department of Computer Science

 Defining actions in FindLargest algorithm

L
o
g
i
c

Algorithm= Data + Logic

Department of Computer Science

 FOOD FOR THOUGHT

■ What is the difference between a RECIPE

and an ALGORITHM

Department of Computer Science

Does a problem have unique solution or multiple?

■ Statement of problem:
■ Input: a sequence of N numbers <a1, a2, …, aN>
■ Output: a reordering of the input sequence <a’ 1, a’2,
…, a’N> so that a’i ≤ a’j whenever i < j
■ Instance: the sequence <5, 3, 2, 8, 3> becomes
<2, 3, 3, 5, 8> after sorting
■ Algorithms:
■ Bubble Sort
■ Selection sort
■ Insertion sort
■ Merge sort
■ Quick sort and many more

Department of Computer Science

 UP-SHOT

■ For each problem or class of problems, there

may be many different algorithms.

Department of Computer Science

 BUILDING
BLOCKS/
THREE
CONSTRUCTS
Department of Computer Science
 Three Constructors

Department of Computer Science

 CHARACTERISTICS

OF
ALGORITHM
Department of Computer Science
 Characteristics of an Algorithm
■ Not all procedures can be called algorithms.
■ An algorithm should have the following characteristics
■ Input: An algorithm must take zero or more inputs
values from a specified set.
■ Output: From each set of input values an algorithm
produces output value(s) from a specified set.
■ Definiteness/precision: The steps to be performed
in the algorithm must be clear and unambiguous.
■ Determinism: The intermediate results of each step
of execution are unique and are determined only by the
inputs and results of the preceding steps.
■ Correctness: An algorithm should produce the correct
output values for each set of input values.

Department of Computer Science

 Characteristics of an Algorithm
■ Finiteness: An algorithm should produce the desired
output after a finite number of steps for any input in
the set.
■ Generality: The procedure should be applicable for all
instances of the given problem, not just for a particular
set of input values.

Department of Computer Science

 EXAMPLES

Department of Computer Science

 Examples: Characteristics of Algorithm

■ Determine which characteristics of an algorithm input,

output, precision, determinism, finiteness, correctness,
generality the following procedure have and which it lack.
■ Procedure:
■ Step 1: Find prime factors of m
■ Step 2: Find prime factors of n
■ Step 3: Identify al l common prime factors of m and n (if p is a prime factor occurring p m
and pn times in m and n, it should be repeated min{pm, pn } times)
■ Step 4: Compute product of al l common factors and return product as the answer.

Department of Computer Science

 Examples: Characteristics of Algorithm

■ Procedure:
■ Step 1: Find prime factors of m
■ Step 2: Find prime factors of n
■ Step 3: Identify al l common prime factors of m and n (if p is a prime factor occurring p m
and pn times in m and n, it should be repeated min{pm, pn } times)
■ Step 4: Compute product of al l common factors and return product as the answer.
■ Input(Y/N)
■ Yes: Because two nonnegative, not-both-zero integers m and n
are given.
■ Output(Y/N):
■ Yes: Because procedure return product of all the common factors
as the GCD of m and n.

Department of Computer Science

 Examples: Characteristics of Algorithm

■ Procedure:
■ Step 1: Find prime factors of m
■ Step 2: Find prime factors of n
■ Step 3: Identify al l common prime factors of m and n (if p is a prime factor occurring p m
and pn times in m and n, it should be repeated min{pm, pn } times)
■ Step 4: Compute product of al l common factors and return product as the answer.
■ Determinism(Y/N)
■ No : Because the prime factorization steps(Step 1 and 2) are
defined ambiguously: they require a list of prime numbers, and we
did not explain how to obtain such a list.
■ Step 3 is also not defined clearly enough. Its ambiguity is much
easier to rectify than that of the factorization steps, however. How
would you find common elements in two sorted lists?

Department of Computer Science

 Examples: Characteristics of Algorithm

■ Procedure:
■ Step 1: Find prime factors of m
■ Step 2: Find prime factors of n
■ Step 3: Identify al l common prime factors of m and n (if p is a prime factor occurring p m
and pn times in m and n, it should be repeated min{pm, pn } times)
■ Step 4: Compute product of al l common factors and return product as the answer.
■ Finiteness (Y/N)
■ Yes : Because in order to find prime factors pi in step 1, we
perform at most iterations and in step 2 we do at most
iterations.
■ Correctness (Y/N)
■ Yes : Because it produces correct output against legitimate input
■ Generality(Y/N)
■ Yes: Because it can find GCD of any two positive integers

Department of Computer Science

 Examples: Characteristics of Algorithm
■ Determine which characteristics of an algorithm the
following procedure have and which it lack.
Procedure 1 double(n)
// The purpose of this procedure is to double a positive integer
while n > =0 do
n 2n
Input: Yes, since n is a positive number,
Finiteness: No, the while loop in this procedure will run
forever, therefore this procedure is not finite.
Modify above procedure so that they satisfies all the
properties
ALGORITHM 1 double(n)
//Input: positive integer n
n 2n
return n
Department of Computer Science
 Examples: Characteristics of Algorithm
■ Determine which characteristics of an algorithm the
following procedure have and which it lack.
Procedure 2 sum(n:positive integer)
// The purpose of this procedure is to find the sum of n integers.
sum = 0
while i < 10 do
sum sum + i
■ The value of i is never set in the procedure, so the given
procedure lacks definiteness. Without knowing the initial value
of i, the behavior of this algorithm is undetermined.
■ Modify above procedure so that they satisfies all the properties
ALGORITHM 2 sum(n:positive integer)
a[n]
sum = 0
i=1
■ while i≤ n
■ sum = sum +a[i]
■ i= i+1;
■ end while
■ returnofsum
Department Computer Science * 56
 Examples: Characteristics of Algorithm
■ Determine which characteristics of an algorithm the
following procedure have and which it lack.
Procedure 3 reciprocal(n:positive integer)
// The purpose of this procedure is to find the reciprocal of a positive
integer n till 1.
while n>= 0 do
m 1/n
n n-1
■ Procedure is not effective since the line “m 1/n” cannot be
executed when n=0, which will eventually be the case.
■ It can also be argued that this procedure is not finite: if a line in
the procedure cannot be completed, the procedure as a whole
cannot be completed.
■ It can also be argued that the procedure lacks correctness since
the “m 1/n” line will also keep the procedure from arriving at a
correct answer.
Department of Computer Science
 Examples: Characteristics of Algorithm
■ Determine which characteristics of an algorithm the
following procedure have and which it lack.
Procedure 4 choose(a, b: integers)
// The purpose of this procedure is to choose a number from two
positive numbers
■ x either a or b

■ The only line in the procedure is ambiguous, how does the

procedure decide which value (a or b) to assign to x?
■ Without knowing how this decision is made, the behavior of this
procedure is undetermined; therefore, this procedure lacks
definiteness.

Department of Computer Science

 Your Turn

Is the following a legitimate algorithm?

i 1
while i ≤ 10 do
a i+1
print value of a

Not finite, goes on and

on…
Department of Computer Science
 FOOD FOR THOUGHT

■ What is the difference between an

ALGORITHM and a PROGRAMM

Department of Computer Science

Difference between PROGRAM and ALGORITHM

■ Unlike programs, algorithms are not dependent

on:
■ a particular Programming Language
■ Machine
■ System
■ Compiler.
■ They are mathematical entities, which can
be thought of as running on some sort of
idealized computer with an infinite random access
memory and an unlimited word size.
■ Algorithm design is all about the
mathematical theory behind the design of
good programs.
Department of Computer Science
 Problems vs Algorithms vs Programs

■ For each problem or class of problems, there may be

many different algorithms.
■ For each algorithm, there may be many different
implementations (programs).

Department of Computer Science

 Points to Ponder

Upshot

A program is one type of algorithm!

All programs are algorithms!
Not all algorithms are programs!

Department of Computer Science

 REPRESENTATION
OF
AGORITHM

Department of Computer Science

 Methods of Specifying Algorithms

■ An algorithm may be expressed in a number of

ways, including:
■ Natural language
■ usually verbose and ambiguous.
■ Flow chart
■ Graphical representation
■ avoid most (if not all) issues of ambiguity
■ difficult to modify w/o specialized tools
■ largely standardized

Department of Computer Science * 65

 Methods of Specifying Algorithms

■ Pseudo-code
■ A mixture of natural language and programming
language-like structures
■ Precise and brief
■ also avoids most issues of ambiguity
■ No particular agreement on syntax
■ programming language
■ tend to require expressing low-level details that are
not necessary for a high-level understanding

Department of Computer Science * 66

 Flow Chart

■ A graphical representation of a process (e.g.

an algorithm), in which graphic objects are
used to indicate the steps & decisions that are
taken as the process moves along from start
to finish.
■ Individual steps are represented by boxes and
other shapes on the flowchart, with arrows
between those shapes indicating the order in
which the steps are taken.

Department of Computer Science

 Start or stop

Process
Input or output

Decision
Flowchart
Symbols Flow line

Connector

Off-page connector

Department of Computer Science

 Process Module

Flowchart counte
Symbols Automatic- A
r
B
counter loop
S

Department of Computer Science

 Flowcharts for three constructs

Department of Computer Science

 Pseudo code

■ Language that is typically used for writing algorithms

■ Similar to a programming language, but not as rigid

■ The method of expression most suitable for a given

situation is used:

■ At times, plain English

■ At others, a programming language like syntax

Department of Computer Science

 Pseudo code Details

■ Pseudo-code in this course

■ omits declarations of variables

■ Expressions
■ Control flow ← Assignment
■ if … then … [else …] (like = in Java)
■ while … do … ● Equality testing
■ repeat … until … (like == in Java)
■ for … do … n2 Superscripts and
■ Indentation replaces braces other mathematical
■ Method declaration formatting allowed
Algorithm method ( arg [, arg…])
Input …
Output …

Department of Computer Science

 Pseudo code for three constructs

Department of Computer Science

 Pseudo code for three constructs

Department of Computer Science

 Example-1

■ Let us illustrate three representation by

discussing simple computation problem
■ Problem: Describe the standard
algorithm for finding the binary
representation of a positive decimal
integer
■ a. in English.
■ b. Flow Chart
■ b. in Pseudo code.

Department of Computer Science * 75

 English Description

1. Write the decimal number

2. Divide by 2; write quotient and remainder
3. Repeat step 2 on the quotient; keep on
repeating until the quotient becomes zero
4. Write all remainder digits in the reverse
order (last remainder first) to form the final
result

Department of Computer Science * 76

 Natural Language Flow Chart
1. Write the decimal number Start

Input
2. Divide by 2; write quotient Numb Step 1
er
and remainder Base

Quatient=Number / Base
3. Repeat step 2 on the Remainder = Number %
Base
Step 2
quotient; keep on Step 3 Record Remainder to

repeating until the List

Number = Quotient

quotient becomes zero

No If Step 3
4. Write all remainder digits Quotien
t =0
in the reverse order (last
Yes
remainder first) to form
the final result Display List
In Reverse Step 4
Order

End

Department of Computer Science * 77

Natural Language Pseudo Code
1. Write the decimal
number

2. Divide by 2; write
quotient and remainder

3. Repeat step 2 on the

quotient; keep on
repeating until the
quotient becomes zero

4. Write all remainder

digits in the reverse
order (last remainder
first) to form the final
result

Department of Computer Science * 78

 Example 2

Problem: Computing Greatest Common

Divisor of two non-negative, not-both zero
integers
■ gcd(m, n): the largest integer that divides both m and n
■ Examples:gcd(60,24) = 12, gcd(60,0) = 60, gcd(0,0) = ?
Example: gcd(60,24) = gcd(24,12) = gcd(12,0) = 12
Algorithm: ?
Remember:

For each problem or class of problems, there may be many different

algorithms.
Department of Computer Science * 79
 Computing GCD: Procedure 1
■ Step 1 Find the prime factors of m
■ Step 2 Find the prime factors of n
■ Step 3 Identify all the common factors in the
two prime expansions found in Steps 1 and 2.
If p is a common factor occurring i and j times
in m and n, respectively, it should be repeated
min{i, j} times
■ Step 4 Compute the product of all the common
factors and return it as the GCD of m and n
■ Note: as written, this procedure requires that m
and n be integers greater than 1, since 1 is not
a prime
■ Is this procedure an algorithm?
Department of Computer Science
Procedure 2:Euclid’s Algorithm for computing GCD

■ Idea:
■ if n ≠ 0, gcd(m, n) = gcd(n, m mod n);
■ if n = 0, gcd(m, n) = m.
■ Euclid’s algorithm for computing gcd(m, n)
■ Step1 If n=0, return the value of m as the answer
and stop; otherwise proceed to Step2.
■ Step2 Divide m by n and assign the value of the
remainder to r.
■ Step3 Assign the value of n to m and the value of r
to n. Go to Step1.

Department of Computer Science

 Specifying an algorithm
Pseudo code description

Department of Computer Science 1-82

 Computing GCD: Procedure 3

■ Step 1 Assign the value of min{m,n} to t

■ Step 2 Divide m by t. If the remainder of this
division is 0, go to Step 3; otherwise, go to
Step 4
■ Step 3 Divide n by t. If the remainder of this
division is 0, return the value of t as the
answer and stop; otherwise, proceed to Step 4
■ Step 4 Decrease the value of t by 1. Go to
Step 2
■ Note: m and n are positive integers
Department of Computer Science
What can we learn from the three examples of gcd(m, n) ?

■ These examples help us to illustrate following

important points:
■ The nonambiguity requirement for each
step of an algorithm cannot be
compromised.
■ The range of inputs for which an algorithm
works has to be specified carefully.
■ The same algorithm can be represented in
several different ways.
■ There may exist several algorithms for
solving the same problem.
Department of Computer Science * 84
What can we learn from the three examples of gcd(m, n) ?

■ Algorithms for the same problem can be

based on very different ideas and can solve
the problems with dramatically different
speeds.

Department of Computer Science * 85

 CONCLUSION

Department of Computer Science

 One Problem, Many Algorithms
Problem
■ The statement of the problem specifies, in
general terms, the desired input/output
relationship.
Algorithm
■ The algorithm describes a specific computational
procedure for achieving input/output relationship.
Example
■ One might need to sort a sequence of numbers
into non-decreasing order.
Algorithms
■ Various algorithms e.g. merge sort, quick sort,
heap sorts etc.
Department of Computer Science
 What we have learnt?

■ What is an algorithm?
■ Understand the concept and properties of an
algorithm.
■ Define and use the three constructs for
developing
algorithms: sequence, decision, and repetition.
■ What properties an algorithm must have?
■ Understand the properties of an algorithm.
■ How to specify an algorithm?
■ Understand and use three tools to represent
algorithms:
flowchart, pseudocode, and structure.
■ One problem different algorithms* having
Department of Computer Science 88
 Summary

■ An algorithm is a Recipe, process, method,

technique, procedure, routine,… with
following characteristics/requirements:
1. Input
● valid inputs are clearly specified
2. Output
● can be proved to produce the correct output given a valid input
3. Finiteness
● terminates after a finite number of steps
4. Definiteness
● rigorously and unambiguously specified
5. Effectiveness
● steps are sufficiently simple and basic

Department of Computer Science

 Points to remember

Algorithm It is sequence of unambiguous

instructions for solving a particular
problem in a finite amount of time

Properties Input, Output, Precision,

Determinism, Finiteness,
Definiteness, Correctness,
Generality

Building Blocks Sequence, Decision structure,

repetitive structure

Representation Structured description, flow chart,

pseudo code

Important There may exist several algorithms

Point for solving the same problem.

Department of Computer Science * 90

 Additional Slides
for Self Study

Department of Computer Science

 MOTIVATION
WHY

Department of Computer Science

 So you want to be a computer scientist?

Department of Computer Science

Is your goal to be a mundane programmer?

Department of Computer Science

 Or a great leader and thinker?

Department of Computer Science

 Original Thinking

Department of Computer Science

COMSATS University, Islamabad
 Boss assign task

■ Given today’s prices of pork, grain, sawdust, …

■ Given constraints on what constitutes a hotdog.
■ Make the cheapest hotdog.

Everyday industry asks these questions.

Department of Computer Science
 Your
answer
■ Um? Tell me what to code.

With more suffocated software engineering systems,

the demand for mundane programmers wil l diminish.
Department of Computer Science
 Your
answer
■ I learned this great algorithm that will work.

Soon al l known algorithms

wil l be available in libraries.

Department of Computer Science

 Your
answer
■ I can develop a new algorithm for you.

Great thinkers
wil l always be needed.

Department of Computer Science

The future belongs to the computer
scientist who has

■ Content: An up-to-date grasp of fundamental

problems and solutions.
■ Method: Principles and techniques to solve the
vast array of unfamiliar problems that arise in a
rapidly changing field.

Department of Computer Science

 Why study algorithm
design?
■ Computer programming is both an art and
science, because:
■ elegance and beauty of expression on one
hand,
■ and accuracy, correctness, reliability, and
efficiency on the other hand, are emphasized.
■ These concerns arise trying to balance the
needs of two classes of people namely:
■ The Programmer: who would like to be elegant
and expressive, while delivering correctness and
efficiency;
■ The user: of the program who would like accuracy,
reliability, correctness, and efficiency in a program
Department of Computer Science * 102
 Why study algorithm
design?
■ Thus an aspiring computer engineer/scientist/
programmer should study how to write
programs which satisfy all the prerequisites.
■ This course addresses these concern.

Department of Computer Science * 103

 Why study algorithm
design?
■ Relationship between algorithms and other
fields in the computer realm
■ Programming is a very complex task, and
there are a number of aspects of
programming that make it so complex.
■ The first is that most programming projects are
very large, requiring the coordinated efforts of
many people.
■ (This is the topic a course like software engineering.)
■ The next is that many programming projects involve
storing and accessing large quantities of data
efficiently.
■ (This is the topic of courses on data structures and
databases.)
Department of Computer Science * 104
 Why Study?

■ The last is that many programming projects

involve solving complex computational problems,
for which simplistic or naive solutions may not
be efficient enough.
■ The complex problems may involve numerical
data (the subject of courses on numerical
computation/analysis), but often they involve
discrete data.
■ This is where the topic of algorithm design
and analysis is important.

Department of Computer Science * 105

 Why Study?

■ Although the algorithms discussed in this course

will often represent only a tiny fraction of the
code that is generated in a large software
system, this small fraction may be very
important for the success of the overall project.
■ An unfortunately common approach to this
problem is to first design an inefficient algorithm
and data structure to solve the problem, and
then take this poor design and attempt to fine-
tune its performance.

Department of Computer Science * 106

 Why Study?

■ The problem is that if the underlying design is

bad, then often no amount of fine-tuning is
going to make a substantial difference.
■ The focus of this course is on how to design
good algorithms, and how to analyze their
efficiency.
■ This is among the most basic aspects of good
programming.

Department of Computer Science * 107

 Why Study?

■ Prominent computer scientist Donald Knuth:

“… It has often been said that a person does not really
understand something until after teaching it to
someone else. Actually a person does not really
understand something until after teaching it to a
computer, i.e., expressing it as an algorithm…”

Department of Computer Science * 108

 Why Algorithm?

■ Computer applications becoming indispensable in

almost all aspects of our professional and personnel
lives and these applications would not exist without
algorithms.
■ Algorithm design techniques, or problem solving
strategies are useful in fields beyond computer science.
■ Studying algorithms is useful in developing analytical
skills.
■ After all, algorithms can be seen as special kinds of solution to
problems – not answers but precisely defined procedures for
getting answer.

Department of Computer Science

 Why Algorithm?

■ If you are going to be a computer professional,

there are both practical and theoretical reasons to study
algorithms.
■ From practical standpoint, you have to know a standard set of
important algorithms from different areas of computing: in
addition, you should be able to design new algorithms and
analyze their efficiency.
■ From theoretical standpoint, the study of algorithms has come
to be recognized as the cornerstone of computer
science(Programs will not exist without algorithms).

Department of Computer Science

 Why Algorithm?

What do we do for such kinds of problems?

■ Given a new problem, how do we proceed to find an
algorithm to solve the problem?
■ Can we have a better algorithm to solve a given
problem than what is already available?
■ Is there still an opportunity to find a better algorithm
for the problem?
■ Which algorithm is good and which one is bad?
■ There could also be some problems for which we
cannot find algorithms that can be executed in
reasonable time.

Solution: Study Design and Analysis of Algorithm.

Department of Computer Science

What can we learn from the three examples of gcd(m, n) ?

■ Algorithms for the same problem can be

based on very different ideas and can solve
the problems with dramatically different
speeds.

Department of Computer Science * 112

 WHERE

Department of Computer Science

 Where algorithm?

■ Algorithm is every where(why)

■ To make a computer do anything, you have to write
a computer program.
■ To write a computer program, you have to tell the
computer, step by step, exactly what you want
it to do. The computer then "executes" the program,
following each step systematically, to accomplish the
end goal.

Department of Computer Science

The same data, different Algorithm

Department of Computer Science

The same Algorithm, different data

Department of Computer Science