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Algorithm vs Formula - What's the difference?

algorithm | formula |

As nouns the difference between algorithm and formula

is that algorithm is a precise step-by-step plan for a computational procedure that possibly begins with an input value and yields an output value in a finite number of steps while formula is any mathematical rule expressed symbolically.

algorithm

English

(wikipedia algorithm)

Alternative forms

* algorism (obsolete)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A precise step-by-step plan for a computational procedure that possibly begins with an input value and yields an output value in a finite number of steps.
  • * 1990 , Cormen, Leiserson, and Rivest, Introduction to Algorithms'': page 1. Cambridge, MA, The MIT Press, 1999 (''23rd printing )
    • Informally, an algorithm''''' is any well-defined computational procedure that takes some value, or set of values, as input and produces some value, or set of values, as output. An ' algorithm is thus a sequence of computational steps that transform the input into the output.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-26, author=(Leo Hickman)
    • , volume=189, issue=7, page=26, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= How algorithms rule the world , passage=The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives. And, as their ubiquity spreads, so too does the debate around whether we should allow ourselves to become so reliant on them – and who, if anyone, is policing their use.}}
  • (archaic) Calculation with Arabic numerals; algorism.

    • Hyponyms

    (hyp-top) * approximation algorithm * checksum algorithm * classification algorithm * compression algorithm * computer arithmetic algorithm * distributed algorithm * divide and conquer algorithm (hyp-mid) * genetic algorithm * greedy algorithm * parallel algorithm * randomized algorithm * randomized algorithm * semi-algorithm * sequential algorithm (hyp-bottom)

    Related terms

    * algorithmic * algorithmics * algorithmization * algorithmize * algebra * algorism

    Usage notes

    * Though some technical definitions require that an algorithm always terminate in a finite number of steps, this distinction is not generally observed in practice.

    See also

    * data structure * function * program

    Anagrams

    * logarithm English eponyms English terms derived from Arabic English terms derived from Persian

    formula

    English

    Noun

    (wikipedia formula)
  • (mathematics) Any mathematical rule expressed symbolically.
    • x = \frac {-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a} is a formula for finding the roots of the quadratic equation ax2 + bx + c = 0 .
  • (chemistry) A symbolic expression of the structure of a compound.
    • H2O is the formula for water (Dihydrogen monoxide)
  • a plan or method for dealing with a problem or for achieving a result
    • The company's winning formula includes excellent service and quality products.
  • A formulation; a prescription; a mixture or solution made in a prescribed manner; the identity and quantities of ingredients of such a mixture.
    • The formula of the rocket fuel has not been revealed.
  • Drink given to babies to substitute for mother's milk.
  • (logic) A syntactic expression of a proposition, built up from quantifiers, logical connectives, variables, relation and operation symbols, and, depending on the type of logic, possibly other operators such as modal, temporal, deontic or epistemic ones.

    • Synonyms

    * (in mathematics) mathematical formula * (in chemistry) chemical formula

    Hyponyms

    * (logic) sentence

    Derived terms

    * (l) * formulate * formulation * Formula One * formula racing * multiformula

    Related terms

    * form * formulaic

    External links

    * * English nouns with irregular plurals ----