Design and Analysis of Algorithms

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Introduction to algorithm

❖ What is Algorithm ?
• An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure or set of rules designed to
perform a specific task or solve a particular problem.
• It is a finite sequence of well-defined, unambiguous instructions that,
when followed, lead to a solution for a given problem or the
achievement of a particular goal.
• In essence, an algorithm is a systematic way of performing a
computation.

Here are some key characteristics of algorithms:

Well-defined:

• Each step of the algorithm must be precisely and unambiguously

specified. The instructions should be clear and leave no room for
interpretation.

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Design and Analysis of Algorithms

Finite:

• An algorithm must have a finite number of steps. It cannot go on

indefinitely; it must eventually halt or reach a solution after executing
a certain number of steps.
Input and Output:

• An algorithm takes input, performs a series of operations, and produces

an output.
• The input is the information provided to the algorithm, and the output
is the result or solution generated by the algorithm.
Effectiveness:

• Algorithms are designed to be effective, meaning that they can be

carried out and implemented with available resources, including time
and memory.
Generality:

• Ideally, an algorithm should be applicable to a range of instances of a

problem, not just a specific case.
• It should be a general solution that can handle different inputs of the
same type.
Correctness:

• An algorithm should produce the correct output for all valid inputs.
• It should solve the specified problem accurately.
Optimality:

• In some cases, algorithms aim to find the best possible solution or

optimize a certain criterion, such as minimizing time complexity, space
complexity, or other relevant factors.

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Design and Analysis of Algorithms

What is meant by Algorithm Analysis?

✓ Algorithm analysis is an important part of computational complexity
theory, which provides theoretical estimation for the required resources
of an algorithm to solve a specific computational problem.
✓ Analysis of algorithms is the determination of the amount of time and
space resources required to execute it.

Why Analysis of Algorithms is Important?

✓ To predict the behavior of an algorithm without implementing it on a
specific computer.
✓ It is much more convenient to have simple measures for the efficiency of
an algorithm than to implement the algorithm and test the efficiency every
time a certain parameter in the underlying computer system changes.
✓ It is impossible to predict the exact behavior of an algorithm.
✓ There are too many influencing factors.
✓ The analysis is thus only an approximation; it is not perfect.
✓ More importantly, by analyzing different algorithms, we can compare
them to determine the best one for our purpose.

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Types of Algorithm Analysis:
Best case
Worst case
Average case
Based on the above three notations of Time Complexity there are three cases
to analyze an algorithm:

Worst Case Analysis (Mostly used)

• In the worst-case analysis, we calculate the upper bound on the
running time of an algorithm.
• We must know the case that causes a maximum number of operations
to be executed.

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Design and Analysis of Algorithms

• For Linear Search, the worst case happens when the element to be
searched (x) is not present in the array.
• When x is not present, the search() function compares it with all the
elements of arr[] one by one.
• Therefore, the worst-case time complexity of the linear search would
be O(n).
Best Case Analysis (Very Rarely used)
• In the best-case analysis, we calculate the lower bound on the running
time of an algorithm.
• We must know the case that causes a minimum number of operations
to be executed.
• In the linear search problem, the best case occurs when x is present at
the first location.
• The number of operations in the best case is constant (not dependent
on n). So time complexity in the best case would be.
Average Case Analysis (Rarely used)
• In average case analysis, we take all possible inputs and calculate the
computing time for all of the inputs.
• Sum all the calculated values and divide the sum by the total number
of inputs.
• We must know (or predict) the distribution of cases.
• For the linear search problem, let us assume that all cases are uniformly
distributed (including the case of x not being present in the array).
• So we sum all the cases and divide the sum by (n+1).
Following is the value of average-case time complexity.

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Design and Analysis of Algorithms

Need of Algorithm
✓ To understand the basic idea of the problem.
✓ To find an approach to solve the problem.
✓ To improve the efficiency of existing techniques.
✓ To understand the basic principles of designing the algorithms.
✓ To compare the performance of the algorithm with respect to other
techniques.
✓ It is the best method of description without describing the
implementation detail.
✓ The Algorithm gives a clear description of requirements and goal of the
problem to the designer.
✓ A good design can produce a good solution.
✓ To understand the flow of the problem.
✓ 12. With the help of algorithm, we convert art into a science.
✓ 13. To understand the principle of designing.

Advantages of Algorithms: ©Topperworld

• It is easy to understand.
• An algorithm is a step-wise representation of a solution to a given
problem.
• In an Algorithm the problem is broken down into smaller pieces or steps
hence, it is easier for the programmer to convert it into an actual
program.

Disadvantages of Algorithms:
• Writing an algorithm takes a long time so it is time-consuming.
• Understanding complex logic through algorithms can be very difficult.
• Branching and Looping statements are difficult to show in
Algorithms(imp).

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Design and Analysis of Algorithms

Properties of Algorithm:
• It should terminate after a finite time.
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• It should produce at least one output.
• It should take zero or more input.
• It should be deterministic means giving the same output for the same
input case.
• Every step in the algorithm must be effective i.e. every step should do
some work.

Application of Algorithm:
Here are some key applications of algorithms in DAA:
➢ Sorting and Searching:
• Algorithms are extensively used for sorting and searching data.
• Sorting algorithms like quicksort, mergesort, and heapsort are applied
to arrange data in a specific order.
• Searching algorithms like binary search efficiently locate items in a
sorted collection.

➢ Graph Algorithms:
• Algorithms are fundamental in solving problems related to graphs.
• Graph algorithms, such as Dijkstra's algorithm for shortest paths,
Kruskal's algorithm for minimum spanning trees, and depth-first
search, are widely used in network optimization, routing, and
connectivity analysis.

➢ Dynamic Programming:
• Dynamic programming is a technique that involves breaking down a
problem into smaller subproblems and solving each subproblem only
once, storing the solutions to subproblems in a table to avoid
redundant computations.

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Design and Analysis of Algorithms

• Algorithms based on dynamic programming are employed in various

optimization problems, such as the knapsack problem and shortest
path problems.

➢ Greedy Algorithms:
• Greedy algorithms make locally optimal choices at each stage with the
hope of finding a global optimum.
• These algorithms are used in problems like Huffman coding for data
compression, scheduling, and certain optimization problems.

➢ Divide and Conquer:

• Divide and conquer is a technique where a problem is broken down
into smaller subproblems, solved independently, and then combined to
find the solution to the original problem.
• Algorithms like merge sort and quicksort use this approach for sorting,
and algorithms like the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) use it for signal
processing.

➢ String Matching Algorithms:

• Algorithms for string matching are essential in text processing and
pattern recognition.
• The Knuth-Morris-Pratt algorithm, Boyer-Moore algorithm, and
Rabin-Karp algorithm are examples of algorithms used in string
matching.

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