Years ago my computer science professor presented the following definition:<\/p>\n
An algorithm<\/em> is a set of steps to solve a problem.<\/p>\n Suppose there wasn’t a dedicated function to calculate a<\/span>b<\/sup>. Then one would need to devise an algorithm for it. One might commonly imagine a loop that multiplied the base by itself the necessary number of times;eg:<\/p>\n Perhaps surprisingly, there is another way of evaluating a<\/span>b<\/sup> that is more efficient. I’ll be introducing that algorithm soon.<\/p>\n Currently we are anticipating heavy rainfall on the west coast. It’s a welcome development after a very dry summer; I’ve high hopes it will squelch the forest fire hazards. Perhaps a coming post will celebrate this change in weather:)<\/p>\n Source:<\/p>\n Grimaldi, Ralph P. Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics<\/u>. Addison-Wesley: Don By way of finding a power of a number the tutor opens a discussion about algorithms. Years ago my computer science professor presented the following definition: An algorithm is a set of steps to solve a problem. Suppose there wasn’t …<\/p>\n
\n#!\/usr\/bin\/perl
\n$base=$ARGV[0];
\n$expon=$ARGV[1];
\n$ans=1;
\nfor($i=0;$i<$expon;$i++){
\n$ans*=$base;#means $ans=$ans*$base;<\/span>
\n}
\nprint “$base to the exponent $expon is $ans\\n\\n”;
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Mills, 1994.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"