Characteristics of Algorithms in Python

Python algorithms are the most essential tools for any tech enthusiast, software engineer, or data scientist. The algorithms that we write in Python are not language specific, and they don't have any standard rules which explain how they should be exactly written. Now this only means that the solutions used for years can be applied as if it is needed for a Python program. Well, there are several types of algorithms that are quite useful in Python.

Interestingly there are four well-known Python algorithms that are used widely, and there written below.

1. Tree Traversal
2. Sorting
3. Searching
4. Graph Algorithm

Now let us understand them one by one.

Types of Algorithms used in Python.

As you know that Python uses a wide variety of algorithms, but there are some well-known algorithms that are widely used, and they are tree traversal, sorting, search, and graph algorithm.

• Tree Traversal Algorithms

These algorithms are designed in such a way that we can able to visit all the notes of a graph which starts from the root and then transverse each node according to the instruction which is given to them. The traversal always occurs in a definite order with the algorithm transverse the tree from the node to a branch or even from the edges to the root.

• Sorting Algorithms

Here the algorithm basically provides a numerals way of arranging data in a particular format, and it contains some common algorithms, which are bubble sort, merge sort, insertion sort, and shell sort.

• Searching Algorithms

This searching algorithm helps the users to check and retrieve elements from different data structures. It does these with the help of variations which includes linear search and binary search.

• Graph Algorithm

The graph algorithm is basically a transverse graph from their edges in a depth-first or breadth-first manner.

How can We write an Algorithm in Python?

Well, the algorithms which are written in Python or any other language are generally written in a step-by-step manner that clearly defines the instruction of the program that is needed or required to run.

Although there is no properly defined standard for writing an algorithm, they are just some basic shared quotes that are constructed between languages that we generally use for creating algorithms, and they are basically loops and the control flow. Solving problems and overcoming challenges in the field of development ensures that if a problem is well defined, then it becomes a key to writing a good solution. But several times, there might be many solutions for a given problem and also many algorithms that can be implemented at once as a medium of helping the return program to find the best solution which can be available.

Although if the solution is implemented, then the solution must contain the following six characteristics.

Characteristics of a Python Algorithm

• The algorithm should be unambiguous and should have some clear steps.
• The algorithm should contain zero or various well-defined inputs.
• We should take care that our respective algorithm should have one or more defined outputs.
• It must be terminated after some finite number of steps.
• The algorithm must be feasible and exist using the available resources.
• Our respective algorithms must be written in an independent way for all the programming codes.

Well, these six characteristics should be exhibited by a good algorithm. Now here is a question arising is Python good enough for the development and implementation of algorithms? Now let us see the answer.

Feasibility of Python for Development and Implementation of the Algorithm.

We should not forget that Python is a quite powerful programming language in the field of programming, and it is because of the reason that it is quite capable of handling all aspects of algorithms in a very accurate manner.

Python programming language is one of the most powerful and accessible programming languages at the current time, and it is quite good enough for the implementation of algorithms. Python exhibits a simple and clean syntax that looks quite like the pseudocode, which is used in the algorithms, and those pseudocodes are not that language specific. One of the biggest advantages of Python language is that the user can able to focus more and more on understanding and resolving the algorithm as compared to languages, which take a lot of time to memorize the syntax of the language.

In addition, we can say that Python is quite good enough when it comes to working with it and understanding the data structure. It offers the user numerous libraries and frameworks which are used on a heavy basis in data science and machine learning.

Writing an Algorithm

Interestingly there is no such kind of well-defined standard for writing the algorithms. It is a kind of problem, and it is resource dependent. They are never written in support of a particular programming code. As you all know that any programming language that exists today, they share some basic code constructs like loops which are do, for, and while, and even exhibit flow control statements which are if and else statements. Only these common constructs help the user for writing an algorithm.

In Python programming language, we write algorithms in a step-by-step manner, but it is not always done as the algorithm writing is a simple process, and it is executed after knowing that the problem domain is well defined to a user. Now this is because we should know what is the exact problem and the problem domain on which we must design a solution.

No, let us take an example of learning algorithm writing.

At first, we must look at the problem where we have to design an algorithm for adding two numbers and then display the result.

• Step 1: Start the program.
• Step 2: Declare your three integers which are x, y, and z.
• Step 3: Define the values of x and y.
• Step 4: At the values of x and y.
• Step 5: Output of step 4 to z.
• Step 6: Print the output z.
• Step 7: Stop the program.

Algorithms help in telling the programmers how we can code the program. Now on an alternate basis, algorithms can be written as.

• Step 1: Start with ADD.
• Step 2: Get the values of X and Y.
• Step 3: Z<-- X+Y
• Step 4: Display the output z.
• Step 5: Stop the program.

Now as we can see that while designing and analyzing an algorithm, generally, we use the second method for describing the algorithm. It becomes quite easier to analyze the algorithm for an analyst as the second step ignores all the unwanted definitions. The analyst can be able to observe what operations are used and how the process is flowing.

Conclusion

This is all about this article; here, we got to know about the characteristics of algorithms in Python. Here we understood the four well-known Python algorithms that are widely used anywhere and even learned about the six characteristics that should be exhibited by good algorithms. Lastly, we have taken an example where we demonstrated how an algorithm is basically written and, in between two, which method is preferably taken by an analyst.