The moon landing was 1969, 40 years ago. Fortran, basic, Cobol, RPG, assembler existed. The IBM 1130 was used to simulate the heating of the LEM. Forbin the Colossus project used IBM 620s. C was not around but B and BCPL were. APL, BAL were around. IBM 360 was 1963. I'll bet the early incarnations of Forth were available in 1969.
What passes as computer speak is nothing short of ebonics or should I say e-bonics.
OK guys let's try to get over it. I myself would have said that assemblers and compilers could be called translators (yup, just like from German to Russian) but if the term transducer has long been used, lets get on with the topic:
Quote:
Originally Posted by SidewalkCynic
I recently learned that algorithm is a word being used without a definite defintion, as seems to be the case of a lot of terms I have been analyzing.
Anyway, I am wondering about this passage that algorithms and it seemingly exercised in fields beyond computer programming.
Quote:
Most algorithms are intended to be implemented as computer programs. However, algorithms are also implemented by other means, such as in a biological neural network (for example, the human brain implementing arithmetic or an insect looking for food), in an electrical circuit, or in a mechanical device.
There is no reference, anybody able to direct me toward any?
May we then say:
An algorithm is a procedure. One could say program although it is not necessarily a computer program. It may be defined by constructs such as a flowchart or in a language having constructs such as described in the Böhm-Jacopini theorem. This makes it a deterministic procedure even though it might incorporate making a random choice at some steps (this doesn't make the procedure itself randomly defined).
An algorithm has the purpose of finding (one of the) solutions of a given problem problem, when executed for a given case. If it outputs a solution, it must be certain that this is a valid one. If necessary, the problem must specify a range for quantities in order to make it feasible to reach solutions.
An algorithm can be performed on an input: a set of data which amounts to specifying a case or instance of the problem. It must also be designed to terminate within finite "time", if necessary outputting that no valid solution has been reached.
The term sometimes gets used in ways that slacken the above two points.
----------------
Inutil insegnà al mus, si piart timp, in plui si infastidìs la bestie.
Your four bullets, I feel address a definition of Algorithm well enough with the following
proviso:
That said Algorithm is already considered a valid one.
Restricting Algorithm to finite states is fine enough. Consider the calculation of Primes. The Algorithm is only calculating one Prime at at time. Do so on each one is definitely a finite set of steps no matter how big the Prime is.
maddog
Last edited by maddog; 05-28-2009 at 10:50 AM..
Reason: Correct Format
Re: Algorithms beyond programming
