Algorithms for complete beginners

Algorithms is a very important topic in programming. In this unit you will learn the basics of algorithms.

This course* is intended for beginners, so you learn the foundations needed to start coding.

* This post is part of my programming course for beginners.

Algorithms example. Pseudo-code for an algorithm that prints the greatest of two numbers

Algorithm example. Pseudo-code for an algorithm that prints the greatest of two numbers

I divided this Unit in four lessons as described below.

Lesson 1: Algorithms introduction

In this lesson you learn the definition of algorithms, how to represent them using natural language, pseudo-code and flow diagrams.

You will also see some examples.

The approximate time to complete this lesson is 15 minutes.

Lesson 2: Conditionals

This lesson explores the use of conditionals to construct algorithms.

You will see some examples on how to use conditionals to solve certain type of problems.

The approximate time to complete this lesson is 15 minutes.

Lesson 3: Algorithms with Repetitions

In this lesson you will learn an important topic: repetitions (a.k.a. oops). You will see how to solve problems creating algorithms with repetitions.

During the lesson you will see some examples.

The approximate time to complete this lesson is 20 minutes.

Lesson 4: Recap and examples

In this lesson I’ll make a recap of the unit. You will see two examples of everything together. I will focus on how to use conditionals and repetitions, to solve problems.

Also, at the end of the lesson I will give you a problem for you to solve on your own. That way you will be able to verify if you learn the basics of algorithms. In case you cannot solve it, you must not worry, you can post a comment and will definitely come back to you with guidance.

The approximate time to complete this lesson is 15 minutes.