Before designing an algorithm it is important to first understand what the problem is. Algorithms can be designed using pseudocode or a flow diagram, and the standard notations of each should be known.
A flow diagram or flowchartA diagram that shows a process, made up of boxes representing steps, decision, inputs and outputs. (also known as a flowchart) is a diagram that represents a set of instructionA single action that can be performed by a computer processor.. Flow diagrams normally use standard symbols to represent the different types of instructions. These symbols are used to construct the flow diagram and show the step-by-step solution to the problem.
Common flow diagram symbols
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Common flow diagram symbols and their usage
Using flow diagrams
Flow diagrams can be used to plan out programSequences of instructions for a computer.. Planning a program that asks people what the best subject they take is, would look like this as a flow diagram: