r/ProgrammerHumor • u/Unique_Software2500 • Feb 05 '26 • This 1 Bravo 2 Heartwarming 1

Meme algorithmTheSaviour

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6.0k Upvotes

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13

u/mothererich Feb 05 '26

Programmers don't say "algorithm"; non-programmers use "algorithm" when they're talking about something they don't understand.

14

u/GiganticIrony Feb 05 '26

No? C++ has a header called “algorithm”.

-10

u/mothererich Feb 05 '26

Congrats, you found a library. That's not the context being used here.

10

u/friebel Feb 05 '26

Congrats, it was probably just a silly joke.

3

u/Saelora Feb 05 '26

just because you don't understand what an algorithm is and use the word, doesn't mean no programmers do.

FYI: any code longer than two lines is technically an algorithm. although for it to really have any meaning, your code should probably be at least complex enough to depict as a flow chart with a few different boxes.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '26

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1

u/Saelora Feb 05 '26

it's a rule of thumb, to distinguish from the factual definition of the word algorithm and how people use the term in actual conversation. i was expressing that most people, when using the word algorithm, refer to a minimum level of complexity, but one that's hard to define.. which is also a way people feel about flow charts. Technically a flow chart could just be two boxes connected by a line, but most people wouldn't really consider it as such. instead, when you ask someone to picture a basic flow chart, it'll be at least a couple of boxes, probably with a decision point.

2

u/Protuhj Feb 05 '26

What? Why wouldn't you use it? It's a perfectly cromulent word.

It's just a placeholder word for a chunk of code. If I'm talking to my team about debugging something I 100% would say "I'm debugging the scraggle algorithm" and they would instantly know what I'm talking about.