Algos

Algos is short for algorithms. An algorithm is a finite set of well-defined instructions that take an input, perform a sequence of operations, and produce an output, terminating after a finite number of steps. Algorithms are the fundamental building blocks of computer science and many fields of mathematics and engineering.

Key properties include determinism, correctness, and termination. A well-designed algorithm yields the correct result for all inputs within its scope and stops after a bounded amount of time. Algorithms are typically analyzed in terms of time and space resources as a function of input size, described using Big-O notation.

Algorithms can be classified by behavior and structure. They can be deterministic or nondeterministic, and can be implemented iteratively or recursively. They are also grouped by design paradigm, such as divide and conquer, dynamic programming, greedy methods, backtracking, and various graph or search strategies.

Common examples include sorting algorithms like quicksort and mergesort; searching algorithms such as binary search; and path-finding algorithms such as Dijkstra’s. More specialized algorithms appear in cryptography, data compression, optimization, and machine learning, among other fields.

History traces the concept to mathematical procedures and, in some languages, to the work of Al-Khwarizmi, from whom the term algorithm is ultimately derived. Today, algorithms are implemented in software across diverse domains and are evaluated for correctness, efficiency, robustness, and scalability.