3 ways to show an Algorithm
To find the largest number, you could have given instructions like these:
- Take a paper and pencil and put a 0 on it. Name the number stored on the paper largest.
- Compare each number in the submitted numbers with largest. If any number is greater than largest, erase largest and replace it with number.
- When you finish going through all the numbers, the value of largest will be the greatest number.
Even for a simple task like finding a large number, you need to give precise instructions. These instructions could also be demonstrated in a flowchart:
The above instructions can also be written in psuedo-code, which is similar to real code:
(input: a list of numbers)
largest = 0
for each number in numbers:
if number > largest:
largest = number //(this assigns the value of number to largest)
return largest
These are 3 different ways to show the same algorithm for a simple task. They should give you an idea of what it means to program a computer - to write step-by-step exact instructions for the computer to follow to accomplish a task.
Challenge
What will the following algorithm return when given the following list of numbers: {1,2,3,5}
ttl = 0 //(assigns value of 0 to 'ttl')
for each number in numbers:
ttl = (ttl + number) //assigns new value to 'ttl'
return ttl
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