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Algorithms Pseudo Code

    In this article, you will learn how to represent an algorithm using a pseudo code and elements of pseudo codes. Learning a programming language is not necessary to understand pseudo code, but knowing a programming language like C, Pascal, etc. help you understand the pseudo codes better.

    Algorithms Components

    The algorithm has two part – heading and the body. See the table below for more information.

     NotationDescription
    HeadingAlgorithm <Name>(<parameter-list>)has the name of the procedure and parameters
    Body{ }two braces indicates block of statements
    Head and Body of an Algorithm

    Example:

    Algorithm Find_Max( A[n])
    {
    
    // A[n] is the list of unsorted numbers from which
    // we need to  find Max value.
            max := 0;
            for i := i to n do
               if max  >= A[i] then
              {  
                 max := A[i];
              }
    }

    The above is sample algorithm to find max value from a list of numbers. The algorithm is written in pseudo code and contains lot of elements with their own notations.

    Notations

    See the table below to understand each notation because you need them for writing algorithms.

    Element NameNotationDescription
    Comments//start with // till the end of line.
    Block{ }indicate a block of statements.
    Identifierdummy-variablestarts with a letter, variable data type is not defined.
    Assignments<var> := <value>assignments are done using := operator
    Logical Operatorsand , or , notcan use logical operators in expressions.
    Relational Operators>, <, <=, >=, !=relational operators are allowed
    Single Dimensional ArrayA[j]jth element of single dimensional array
    Multi-Dimensional ArrayA[i, j]represents a multidimensional array, (i, j) th element.
    While loopwhile <condition > do {
    }
    a while loop structure
    For loopfor var:= value 1 to value 2 step do {
    }
    a for loop structure
    Conditional statement  if – thenif <condition> then <statement>if  block of statements
    Conditional statement if – then – elseif <condition> then <statement> else <statement>if – else block of statements
    Inputreadcommand to read input values
    Outputwritecommand to write output values
    Nodenode = record {
    data type 1 data1;
    data type 2 data2;

    node *link;

    }
    A compound data type make of other data types
    Codes used in Algorithms