Design an Algorithm in Your Head
Algorithms are much like design patterns. They are a way of collaborating and sharing an experience. As we think through how to solve a specific programming problem, we’re actually designing (or using) an algorithm. Meanwhile, the “fizz buzz” coding challenges we find in job interviews are based on the premise that most professional software developers and computer science graduates “can’t code their way out of a wet paper bag.” We won’t talk about fizz buzz, but we’ll talk through a programming problem. We’ll design an algorithm to convert numbers from decimal to hexadecimal and back – in our heads, without calculators, computers, or sprints(). It’s fun!