The document discusses the origin of the word "algorithm" and provides definitions and characteristics of algorithms. It notes that the word derives from the name of the Muslim mathematician Abu Ja'far Mohammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi. It defines an algorithm as a well-defined computational procedure that takes inputs and produces outputs. Key characteristics are that an algorithm must be finite, have well-defined instructions, and be effective at solving the problem it was designed for. Examples of algorithms in daily life and ways of representing algorithms through flowcharts and pseudocode are also mentioned.

1. Fundamentals of algorithm
SUNAWAR KHAN
MSCS
IIUI

2. Origin of Word algorithm
 The word Algorithm comes from the name of the muslim author Abu
Ja’far Mohammad ibn Musa al-Khowarizmi. He was born in the eighth
century at Khwarizm (Kheva), a town south of river Oxus in present
Uzbekistan.
 Uzbekistan, a Muslim country for over a thousand years, was taken over
by the Russians in 1873.

3. Origin of Word algorithm
 His year of birth is not known exactly. Al-Khwarizmi parents
migrated to a place south of Baghdad when he was a child.
 It has been established from his contributions that he
flourished under Khalifah Al-Mamun at Baghdad during 813
to 833 C.E. Al-Khwarizmi died around 840 C.E.

4. Origin of Word algorithm
 Much of al-Khwarizmi’s work was written in a book titled al
Kitab al-mukhatasar fi hisab al-jabr wa’l-muqabalah (The
Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and
Balancing).
 It is from the titles of these writings and his name that the
words algebra and algorithm are derived. As a result of his
work, al-Khwarizmi is regarded as the most outstanding
mathematician of his time

5. Algorithm: Informal Definition
 An algorithm is any well-defined computational procedure
that takes some values, or set of values, as input and
produces some value, or set of values, as output.
 An algorithm is thus a sequence of computational steps that
transform the input into output.

6. Algorithms, Programming
 A good understanding of algorithms is essential for a good understanding of
the most basic element of computer science: programming
 Unlike a program, an algorithm is a mathematical entity, which is independent of
a specific programming language, machine, or compiler.
 Thus, in some sense, algorithm design is all about the mathematical theory
behind the design of good programs

7. Characteristics of algorithm
 It should be finite: If your algorithm never ends trying to
solve the problem it was designed to solve then it is useless.
 It should have well defined instructions: Each step of the
algorithm has to be precisely defined; the instructions should
be unambiguously specified for each case.

8. Characteristics of algorithm
 It should be effective: The algorithm should solve the
problem it was designed to solve. And it should be possible
to demonstrate that the algorithm converges with just a
paper and pencil.

9. Example from daily life
 Buy some food from super market
 Making tea

10. Representation of algorithms
There are to ways to represent an algorithm
 Flow Charts
 Pseudocode

11. Flowcharts
 A flowchart is a type of diagram that uses an algorithm,
workflow or process, showing the steps as boxes of various
kinds, and their order by connecting them with arrows.

12. This diagrammatic representation
 This diagrammatic representation illustrates a solution model
to a given problem