OCOM5102M / Algorithms

Precise Thinking

This module was the theoretical backbone: proof techniques, sets and relations, graphs, algorithm analysis, stable matching and the discipline of explaining why an algorithm works rather than merely observing that it ran once.

Core

Proofs before vibes.

The module reinforced induction, contradiction, invariants and the habit of being explicit about assumptions.

Graphs

Data structures

Graph algorithms were a useful bridge into later AI topics: search, representation, state spaces and relational reasoning.

Complexity

Runtime and growth

Big-O analysis is not decoration when datasets or search spaces grow. It is the difference between a technique and a wish.

Lesson

What I use now

I can describe what a program does. Explaining why it terminates, why it is correct and where it fails is a different skill, and I was rustier at it than I expected.