An algorithm, for the non-programmers among us, is a set of instructions that take an input, A, and provide an output, B, that changes the data involved in some way. Algorithms have a wide variety of applications. In math, they can help calculate functions from points in a data set, among much more advanced things. Aside from their use in programming itself, they play major roles in things like file compression and data encryption.
Let’s say your friend is meeting you in a grocery store and you’re guiding him towards you. You say things like “come in through the right-side doors,” “pass the fish section on the left,” and “if you see the dairy, you passed me.” Algorithms work like that.
The following are a collection of books on computer algorithms that you can download for free!
The following are links to other computer science books
