you may have heard the term algorithm
recently whether it was online or maybe
in some conversation about technology
it's a word that gets thrown around a
lot but what exactly does it mean well
simply put an algorithm is a set of
steps used to complete a specific task
they're the building blocks for
programming and they allow things like
computers smartphones and websites to
function and make decisions but in
addition to being used by technology a
lot of things we do on a daily basis are
also similar to algorithms let's say you
want to make some spaghetti in order to
do this successfully there's a certain
set of steps you need to follow in a
particular order first you need to boil
a pot of water once it's boiling you
then add the spaghetti and cook it for a
set amount of time stirring occasionally
once it's finished you drain the water
and then it's ready to be served with a
sauce of your choice that entire process
is actually an algorithm because you
followed those steps in that order
you reached your desired outcome a
delicious pasta dish but if you were to
make a mistake say over or undercooking
your noodles it probably wouldn't be as
good programs work in a similar way
their code is made up of algorithms
telling them what to do let's say that
we want to use a navigation app to get
directions when we punch in a
destination the app uses an algorithm to
look at the various available routes
next it uses a different algorithm to
check the current traffic and then a
third one takes that information and
calculates the best available route all
of these algorithms are built right into
the apps code if there were any kind of
error in that code the app wouldn't be
able to follow these algorithms
correctly meaning you wouldn't receive
your directions both of these examples
show how both humans and computers can
use algorithms to perform everyday tasks
the difference is that computers can use
algorithms and calculate things better
faster and more efficiently than we can
technology is only going to continue to
evolve and get even better at what it
does as long as coding and programming
continue to be used
algorithms will be at the heart of these
technologies guiding what they do and
how they do it
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