Is a list of instruction for the computer to follow to accomplish the task of processing data into information?

An algorithm is the list of instructions and rules that a computer needs to do to complete a task.

Table of Contents Show

• What is an algorithm?
• How do computer algorithms work?
• Algorithms and automation
• More from the ‘ELI5’ corner
• Short-Answer Questions
• Short-Answer Questions
• Short-Answer Questions

Algorithms are in everything we do. But for those that aren’t inclined toward maths and programming, the term ‘algorithm’ is less than clear.

(In fact, the joke runs that developers use the word ‘algorithm’ when they don’t want to explain what they’ve done.)

So, you might have heard the term before, even used it. But what is an algorithm exactly?

What is an algorithm?

In essence, algorithms are simply a series of instructions that are followed, step by step, to do something useful or solve a problem. You could consider a cake recipe an algorithm for making a cake, for example.

In computing, algorithms provide computers with a successive guide to completing actions. They’re comprised of a precise list of instructions that outline exactly how to complete a task.

So, what is an algorithm? A good way to think of them is as mini instruction manuals telling computers how to complete a given task or manipulate given data.

How do computer algorithms work?

Computer algorithms work via input and output. They take the input and apply each step of the algorithm to that information to generate an output.

For example, a search engine is an algorithm that takes a search query as an input and searches its database for items relevant to the words in the query. It then outputs the results.

You can easily visualise algorithms as a flowchart. The input leads to steps and questions that need handling in order. When each section of the flowchart is completed, the generated result is the output.

Algorithms and automation

That sounds straightforward enough so far, but what is an algorithm used for? The truth is decidedly broad.

Algorithms are used throughout all areas of IT and computing. They can manipulate and process data and perform calculations or actions in various ways.

A great example of algorithms in action is with automation software.  This is because automation works by following set rules to complete tasks. Those rules form an algorithm.

So, automation software is made up of many algorithms all working to automate your processes.

For example, one of your automated tasks requires your automation software to take all billing information received by email and put it into a spreadsheet. To do this, you set up a series of rules and conditions for the program to follow — an algorithm.

In this instance, the input is every incoming email. Each of these emails are then put through each step — or rule — to complete the task. This might include scanning each email for key terms. Emails that contain these terms then move to the next step, continuing to follow each step to identify and extract the relevant data. The output is the information that’s placed into a spreadsheet.  

TL;DR

So, what is an algorithm? They’re maps that outline the basic way to do something. In computing, an algorithm is the list of instructions and rules that a computer needs to do to complete a task.

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Chapter 9

Self-Test Questions

1. The purpose of anti-virus software is to scan a computer’s disk devices and memory to detect viruses and, sometimes, to destroy them.
2. So that information processing operations can be restored after destruction or accident, organizations should adopt a disaster-recovery plan.
3. encryption is the altering of data so that it is not usable unless the changes are undone.
4. dirty data is incomplete, outdated, or otherwise inaccurate data.
5. An error in a program that causes it not to work properly is called a bug.

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. Which of the following are crimes against computers and communications?

a. natural hazards

b. software theft

c. information theft

d. software bugs

e. procedural errors

2. Which of the following are methods or means of safeguarding computer systems?

a. signatures

b. keys

c. physical traits of users

d. worms

e. VBNS

True/False Questions

1. F Viruses cannot be passed from computer to computer through a network.

2. F One of the weakest links in a security system is biometrics.

3. T Two types of encryption are public-key and private-key..

Short-Answer Questions

1. A worm is a program that copies itself repeatedly into a computer’s memory or onto a disk drive. Sometimes it copies itself so often that it causes a computer to crash.

Chapter 10

Self-Test Questions

1. A(n) robot is an automatic device that performs functions ordinarily performed by human beings.

2. The goal of natural language processing is to enable the computer to communicate with the user in the user’s native language.

3. In the tree-and-branch telecommunications model, used by most mass media, a centralized information provider sends out messages through many channels to thousands of consumers; the switched-network telecommunications model, in contrast, is used by the telephone system and computer networks.

4. artificial intelligence is a group of related technologies used for developing machines to emulate human qualities such as learning, reasoning, communicating, seeing, and hearing.

5. neural networks use physical electronic devices or software to mimic the neurological structure of the human brain.

6. A(n) genetic algorithm is a program that uses Darwinian principles of random mutation to improve itself.

7. Devices that represent the behavior of physical or abstract systems are called simulators.

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. Which of the following are main areas of AI?

a. genetic algorithms

b. fuzzy logic

c. robotics

d. natural language processing

e. all of the above

2. Which of the following are components of the Turing test?

a. human judge

b. A-life

c. computer terminal

d. software program

e. human typing on keyboard

True/False Questions

1. F Expert systems are not interactive.

2. F You need only software to create virtual reality.

3. F A knowledge base is part of a natural language system.

4. T The user interface is the display screen that the user deals with.

Short-Answer Questions

3.      The Turing test is a test for determining whether a computer possesses “intelligence” or “self-awareness.” In the Turing test, a human judge converses by means of a computer terminal with two entities hidden in another location.

Chapter 11

Self-Test Questions

1. top managers are concerned with long-range, or strategic, planning and decisions.
2. middle-level managers make tactical decisions to implement the strategic goals of an organization.
3. supervisory managers make operational decisions—predictable decisions that can be made by following well-defined sets of routine decisions.
4. A transaction is a recorded event having to do with routine business activities.
5. A model is a mathematical representation of a real system.
6. office automation combine various technologies to reduce the manual labor required in operating an efficient office environment.
7. A system is a collection of related components that interact to perform a task in order to accomplish a goal.

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. One of the following activites is not an objective of phase 1 of the SDLC, preliminary investigation. Which one?

a. conduct preliminary analysis

b. describe costs and benefits

c. acquire new software and hardware

d. submit a preliminary plan

e. propose alternative solutions

1. One of the following activities is not an objective of phase 4 of the SDLC, systems development. Which one?

a. convert files to the new system

b. acquire software

c. acquire hardware

d. test the system

e. address the make-or-buy decision

True/False Questions

1. F Summary reports enable systems analysts to present graphic, or pictorial, representations of a new system.

2. F CASE tools—programs that automate various activities of the SDLC—are used only in phase 3.

3. T Four methods of systems implementation are direct, parallel, phased, and pilot.

4. F User training takes place during phase 1 of the SDLC.

Short-Answer Questions

4.  An expert system, or knowledge-based system, is a set of interactive computer programs that helps users solve problems that would otherwise require the assistance of a human expert.

Appendix A

Multiple Choice Questions

Which development has made programming easier?

A) Object-oriented programming

B) Visual programming

C) Both of the above

D) None of the above

The acronym OOP stands for:

A) orientation-ordered programs.

B) object-oriented programming.

C) order of problems.

D) none of the above.

Fairly recently developed programming languages or standards used to build multimedia sites on the World Wide Web include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) HTML

B) JAVA

C) FORTRAN

D) All of the above are used.

HTML stands for:

A) high to medium language.

B) hypertext markup language.

C) both of the above.

D) none of the above.

Which language is not considered a "real" programming language?

A) HTML

B) VRML

C) Java

D) XML

HTML is simple and easy. Why is it not used more often in programming?

A) Its monetary expense outweighs its benefits.

B) It cannot handle the high volume and complexity of business transactions.

C) Inherent deficiencies in the language cause computers using it to fail ("crash").

D) All of the above

XML makes it easier for:

A) humans to read web sites.

B) machines to read web sites.

C) both of the above.

D) neither of the above.

True/False Questions

T F   All programming languages are appropriate for all uses.

T F   Machine-language programs vary from computer to computer, so they are called machine-dependent.

T F   In object-oriented programming, methods refer to the processing instructions that are part of the object.

Fill in the Blank Questions

A(n) program is a list of instructions that the computer must follow in order to process data into information.

Programming, also called software engineering, is a multi-step process for creating a program.

A(n) programming language is a set of rules and symbols that tells the computer what operations to do.

A(n) compiler is a language translator that converts the entire program of a high-level language into machine language before the computer executes the program.

A(n) interpreter is a language translator that converts each high-level language statement into machine language and executes it immediately, statement by statement.

In object-oriented programming data and instructions for processing that data are combined into a self-sufficient "object" that can be used in other programs.

Visual programming is a method of creating programs in which the programmer makes connections between objects by drawing, pointing, and clicking on diagrams and icons and by interacting with flowcharts.