Algorithms 101

What's an algorithm? Besides being the answer to most interview questions, an algorithm is a way to solve a particular problem in programming.

Google Maps uses an algorithm to calculate driving directions through 3 cities while avoiding highways. Amazon uses an algorithm to figure out exactly what product to recommend to you next so that you'll blindly one-click it.

In this workshop, we will discuss what an algorithm is, introduce the idea of algorithmic complexity (big O notation), demonstrate sort and search algorithms (with a hands-on re-enactment), and finish with an overview of the many types of algorithms out there. This workshop is taught by Amelia Downs, Senior Software Engineer at Pivotal & Jessica Dene Earley, Director of Part-time Education at Hackbright.

This workshop focuses on design-thinking for algorithms, which is a pre-requisite to expressing these ideas in code.

Lunch will not be provided.

Prerequisites: Attendees would benefit from a basic understanding of a programming language, like from JS 101, but that is not required.

Tech requirements: Your laptop, if you'd like to follow along with the slides. If you would like to borrow one of our Chromebooks for class, please message the teachers in advance.

Schedule:

• Introduction

• Defining an Algorithm

• Data Structures

• Time/space complexity

• Several Sorting Algorithms

• Binary Search

• Algorithms in Real Life

A great follow-up workshop to this one is our Whiteboarding Interview Prep (https://www.meetup.com/Girl-Develop-It-San-Francisco/events/233698188/) on Saturday April 22nd!

Payment is required to attend. If you'd like to attend but cannot afford the cost, click here to request a scholarship (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfiUBN4yve3L7iociXzcqNgEtrljsn_7mCgZ3eUtvAEr3bcQg/viewform). Due to the amount of applications, only the scholarship recipients will receive an email a few days before the workshop. Thank you for your understanding!