(derived from the name of the Islamic mathematician Al-Khowarizmi) A set of rules or instructions that will result in the solution of a problem. An algorithm gives a decision procedure, or computable method for solving a problem. Although an algorithm will solve the problem, it may not do so efficiently, and in the theory of computation algorithms may be measured for their efficiency and their behaviour in various circumstances, for example across average cases and unfavourable cases. See also Church's thesis, decision problem, recursive, Turing machine.
Philosophy dictionary. Academic. 2011.