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The five most important algorithms?
Bernhard Koutschan posted a compilation of the most important algorithms. The goal is to determine the 5 most important algorithms. Out of his list, I would select the following five algorithms:
- Binary search is the first non-trivial algorithm I remember learning.
- The Fast Fourier transform (FFT) is an amazing algorithm. Combined with the Convolution theorem, it lets you do magic.
- While hashing is not an algorithm, it is one of the most powerful and useful idea in Computer Science. It takes minutes to explain it, but years to master.
- Merge sort is the most elegant sorting algorithm. You can explain it in three sentences to anyone.
- While not an algorithm per se, the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) is the most important Linear Algebra concept I don’t remember learning as an undergraduate. (And yes, I went to a good school. And yes, I was an A student.) It can help you invert singular matrices and do other similar magic.