Concept
Algorithm
A finite sequence of well-defined steps that solves a class of problems or performs a computation.
Updated Oct 30, 2026 · 1 min read · 6 connections
- Etymology
- From al-Khwārizmī, 9th-century scholar
- Formalized
- 1930s
Overview
Algorithms predate computers: Euclid’s method for the greatest common divisor is more than two thousand years old. The concept was made precise in the 1930s through models such as the turing machine and grounded in formal logic.
Notable families
Many important algorithms operate on networks studied in graph theory, such as Dijkstra’s shortest-path algorithm. Genetic algorithms search for solutions by imitating natural selection, and training a neural network relies on gradient-based optimization.