Science Forums 2

[stereologist]

i would agree that there are no algorithms for computing pi. There are algorithms for computing approximations to pi.

Not to get off on a tangent, but another term that is often misused is the term parse. People often say things like "parse the input for the phone number". Parse means to find the relationships between the parts. Scanning and searching are not parsing. Parsing human languages requires determining the relationship between words.

Getting back to the issue of algorithms, the definition I find useful is the one that allows for a better understanding of the work being done. A function that never returns is not useful to me.

just as parsing is often used in a less precise manner, so is algorithm. Fortunately, in most cases people are able to adjust their thinking to go from less well defined to more precise definitions when the context requires it.