What is Algorithm?
An algorithm is a set of rules or
instructions used in calculations and problem-solving operations.
Algorithm dates back to 300 BC when
their inscriptions were found on Babylonian clay tablets.
They were originally marking schemes
which the common people used to keep track of their cattle and stocks of grain.
The name algorithm comes from the name
of Persian Mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, who wrote a book on
Hindu-Arabic numerals. The Arabic work was translated into Latin as Algoritmi
de numero Indorum and later into English, Concerning the Hindu art of
Reckoning.
Algorithms became a significant part
of mathematics, laying the foundation for the algebra of logic, variables in
calculations, greatest common divisor, approximation of Pi, prime numbers etc.
The modern algorithm is a sequence of
steps laid down to fulfill a particular task.
British mathematician and computer
scientist Alan Turing, worked out how a machine could follow algorithmic
instructions and solve complex mathematical problems.
Thus began the computer age.
Now algorithms are used in all major
applications in information technology, navigation (GPS), shopping, internet
searches etc.
The first person to use the term ‘algorithm’
was Adelard de Bath, a 12th century English philosopher who
translated Khwarizmi’s works.
