Characteristics of an algorithm

An algorithm is written in simple English and is not a formal document. An algorithm must:

- be lucid, precise and unambiguous

- give the correct solution in all cases

- eventually end

Also note it is important to use indentation when writing solution algorithm because it helps to differentiate between the different control structures.

1) Finiteness: - an algorithm terminates after a finite numbers of steps. 2) Definiteness: - each step in algorithm is unambiguous. This means that the action specified by the step cannot be interpreted (explain the meaning of) in multiple ways & can be performed without any confusion. 3) Input:- an algorithm accepts zero or more inputs 4) Output:- it produces at least one output. 5) Effectiveness:- it consists of basic instructions that are realizable. This means that the instructions can be performed by using the given inputs in a finite amount of time.