How to design an algorithm

Designing an algorithm is a profoundly creative human endeavor. Indeed, to design an algorithm one has to conceive a solution by drawing on a deep understanding of the problem at hand, on one’s knowledge of techniques adopted for the construction of other algorithms and, above all, on a fair sprinkling of one’s personal inventiveness. As a consequence there can be no fully automated method for generating the solution to a given problem. So, in this chapter we want to indicate the line to be followed in order to arrive at an algorithm design of optimized form. Integral to this we explain why it is essential to find the best way to abstract, represent and organize the information available about the specific problem to be tackled.