Python Algorithms

An algorithm is a series of instructions that can be executed to perform a certain task or computation. A recipe for a cake is an example of an algorithm. For example, preheat the oven, beat 125 g of sugar and 100 g of butter, and then add eggs and other ingredients. Similarly, simple computations in mathematics are algorithms. For example, when computing the perimeter of a circle, you multiply the radius by 2π. It's a short algorithm, but an algorithm, nonetheless.

Algorithms are often initially defined in pseudocode, which is a way of writing down the steps a computer program will make without coding in any specific language. A reader should not need a technical background in order to read the logic expressed in pseudocode. For example, if you had a list of positive numbers and wanted to find the maximum number of positive numbers in that list, an algorithm expressed in pseudocode could be as follows:

1. Set the maximum variable to 0.
2. For...