Objectives

• Understand and explain the terms:

• algorithm
• decomposition
• abstraction
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Starter
• Computer Science is about studying problems and
how to solve them
• Discuss some solutions to the following:
• How can you route pieces of information across a network to
the other side of the world?
• How can you make the images in a computer game look
more realistic?
• How can you program a computer to work out the
school timetable?
• How can you search 1,000,000 items quickly?
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Starter
• The answers to these problems are too long to
write here – some aspects that you may have
considered in your discussions
• Some problems such as ‘how can you search 1,000,000 items
quickly?’ require a specific algorithm to be considered
• There may be many different algorithms that solve the
same problem
• Problems such as ‘How can you make the images in a computer
game look more realistic?’ need abstractions, where we
consider the important components of a realistic image
• Routing items of data around the world requires many different
protocols. This is a result of decomposing the problem into
smaller tasks
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

What is an algorithm?
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Algorithms
• An algorithm is a set of instructions for solving a
problem or completing a task
• The task could be:
• Making a chocolate cake
• Summing the numbers 1 to 1000
• Building a Lego model
• Think of some more …
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Strategies for problem-solving

• One strategy for solving a large problem is to first try
and solve a similar but smaller problem
• How do you set about doing a jigsaw puzzle?
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Algorithmic thinking
• Solving these puzzles involves algorithmic thinking
• If you are using a computer to find the answer, you
have to figure out how to solve the problem, and
then write down the steps
• Not all solutions are equally efficient
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Divide and conquer

• Here is a problem
• Ask a friend to think of a number between
1 and 1000
• Guess the number by asking: “Is the number greater
than n?” (where n is your guess)
• How many guesses will you need to find the number?
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Worst case scenario

• Search for the number at the mid-point (500)
• If it’s the number we are searching for, then stop
• If it’s lower than 500, then search at the mid point of the lower
numbers (250)
• Otherwise, if it’s higher than 500, then search at the mid point
of the higher numbers (750)
• The worst case scenario for this algorithm would be
a search for numbers such as ‘1’ or ‘367’
• With this algorithm, any number can be guessed within
10 guesses
• 1 = 500,250,125,63,32,16,8,4,2,1
• 367 = 500,250,375,312,344,360,368,364,366,367
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Worksheet 1
• Now complete Task 1 on Worksheet 1
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Abstraction
• Abstraction involves removing unnecessary detail
from a problem so that you can focus on the
essential components
• The London Underground map is a good example
of abstraction
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Abstraction
• When you write a program to
play a game involving dice
with a computer, how does
the computer ‘roll the dice’?
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Rolling dice
• When a computer rolls a dice we can use
abstraction to remove many unnecessary details
• It will depend on the problem being solved as to what is and
isn’t important
• A computer game may need to show a graphical
representation of a dice – but they may be able to abstract
away all the details about the surface it rolls onto and the
physics of the bounce
• Many programs just need a random number – in which case
they don’t need to worry about how the dice appears, its
weight or how the spots are arranged – they can just find a
random number with one line of programming code
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Decomposition
• Decomposition involves breaking down a large
problem into smaller sub-problems
• Then the sub-problems can be broken down further
until each small task is manageable
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Decomposing a dice game

• Suppose you want to create a dice game to be
played on the computer
• You need to think of the main tasks that need to be
performed – for example:
• Display the rules
• Establish whether this particular game is to be a two-player
game, or one person against the computer
• Display the ‘board’ if there is one
• Play the game
• Display the result when the game is over
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Decomposition - advantages
• The problem becomes easier to solve when it
consists of a number of small subtasks or modules
• Some modules may be reusable in other programs,
saving development time
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Structure diagrams
• A structure diagram is used to show how a problem
is broken down
• It will show sub-problems which accomplish an identifiable
task and their links to other sub-problems
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Worksheet 1
• Now complete Task 2 on Worksheet 1
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Plenary
• With a partner define the following terms:
• Abstraction
• Decomposition
• Algorithm
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

Plenary
• Definitions
• Abstraction – removing unimportant parts of a problem in
order to concentrate on those that are important
• Decomposition – breaking down a problem into smaller more
manageable ones
• Algorithm – a sequence of steps that are followed to complete
a task
• Note that a computer program is an implementation of an
algorithm and that an algorithm is not a computer program
Algorithms, decomposition and abstraction
Unit 1 Fundamentals of algorithms

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