Algorithms For Dummies

  Introducing Algorithms 

     15

Emergency procedures often rely on algorithms. You take the emergency card out 

of the packet in front of you in the plane. On it are a series of pictographs showing 

how to open the emergency door and extend the slide. In some cases, you might 

not even see words, but the pictures convey the procedure required to perform the 

task and solve the problem of getting out of the plane in a hurry. Throughout this 

book, you see the same three elements for every algorithm:

1. 

Describe the problem.

2. 

Create a series of steps to solve the problem (well defined).

3. 

Perform the steps to obtain a desired result (finite and effective).