29 juillet 2023
Ce document est lié à :
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1093/philmat/nkad011
Philippos Papayannopoulos, « On Algorithms, Effective Procedures, and Their Definitions », HAL-SHS : histoire, philosophie et sociologie des sciences et des techniques, ID : 10.1093/philmat/nkad011
I examine the classical idea of 'algorithm' as a sequential, step-by-step, deterministic procedure (i.e., the idea of 'algorithm' that was already in use by the 1930s), with respect to the following themes: (a) its relation to the notion of an 'effective procedure', (b) its different roles and uses in logic, computer science, and mathematics (focused on numerical analysis), and (c) its different formal definitions proposed by practitioners in these areas. I argue that 'algorithm' has been conceptualized and used in contrasting ways in the above areas, and discuss challenges and prospects for adopting a final foundational theory of (classical) 'algorithms'.