For those who don’t gel well with DSA.
As much as Data Structures and Algorithms help in the software development process, it is not everyone’s cup of tea. But they are essential to solving problems in your projects. So, here are the 5 most important algorithms. These are all you will need to make impressive Software Development projects at the start.
Sorting Algorithms
These are a series of Algorithms that arrange the order of the items in a list. Important sorting algorithms are:
Bubble Sort:
The simplest sorting algorithms work by comparing adjacent array elements and sorting them until the list is in order.
Merge Sort:
Merge sort uses the divide and conquer strategy to sort the items in the list.
Quick Sort:
Like Merge sort, Quick sort is a divide and conquer algorithm, but it is more efficient and faster. It uses n log n comparisons on average when sorting an array of n elements.
Heap Sort:
Heap sort algorithm visualizes the elements as a special kind of binary tree called the heap.
Searching Algorithm:
These are used to search an element or an item in a given array. All of them use a search key to return a success or failure status.
Important search algorithms:
Binary Search
Binary search Algorithm employs a divide and conquer strategy where an item is compared to the list’s middle element after the list is divided into 2 halves. If there is a match, the element gets returned to its position.
Breadth-First Search (BFS)
This algorithm begins on the root node of the graph and explores all the neighboring nodes.
Depth-First Search (DFS)
This algorithm begins with the first node of the graph, but you can go deeper to find the goal node or node with no children.
Dynamic Programming:
It aims at arriving at the optimum solution through breaking the problems into sub-problems.
Dynamic programming comes in very handy in solving software development problems, but not everyone is able to think in terms of dynamic programming.
Here’s what you can do to develop the dynamic programming problems.
Recursion Algorithm:
Recursion algorithm is when a function calls itself repeatedly in a direct or indirect manner. A classic example is computing factorials.
Here are some basic steps of solving a recursive program:
- Set up the algorithm: Recursive programs require a seed value to start with. This can be done by employing a parameter passed to the function or by providing a non-recursive gateway function that sets up seed values for the recursive calculation.
- Check if the current value(s) that are processed correspond to the base case. If it does, you process the value and return it.
- Rewrite the solution in terms of simpler sub-problems.
- Apply the algorithm to those sub-problems
- Combine the result to formulate the answer.
- Return the results.
Divide and Conquer:
Divide and Conquer technique is used in many algorithms that are used often. That’s why it is important to understand this technique. Some Algorithms that use the Divide and Conquer algorithm are Quick sort, Merge sort, Strassen’s Algorithm etc.
The technique can be divided into three parts:
- Divide: Divide the problem into smaller sub-problems
- Conquer: Solve those sub-problems by calling them recursively until solved.
- Combine: Combine the solutions to get the final solution of the entire problem.
Hashing:
The Hashing technique uses a process of transforming any key or given string of values into another value. Just like other algorithms, it makes the original string turn into a shorter value or key which is easier to understand.
Hashing is used in Data indexing and retrieval, cybersecurity and cryptography.
In solving development problems, developers use the hashing technique to map keys and values into a hash table.
Conclusion:
There you go, these are some of the most important algorithms that can come handy in your Software Development process. There is a lot more to know. But we recommend you begin with these as a beginner and it will be used in almost all of the beginner projects.
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Author: Mansi Sabharwal
