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Three Equivalent Methods of Algorithm Logic

An algorithm is basically a recipe. It must produce the same outcome if it's repeated. The biggest difference between an algorithm and baking a loaf of bread from a sequence of instructions, for example, is the logic found in algorithms. Algorithm logic is not composed of fixed instruction; it uses conditional instructions. That it is the key to algorithm logic methods: a means of producing conditional instructions that produce repeatable outcomes.

Application and Context
- It's easier to understand variations of algorithm logic if you understand the context in which algorithms are most often used, then understand how conceptually similar processes can be translated for different uses. Algorithms are used primarily by computer programmers. They are used to design the logical framework of a computer program. The same process can be applied to, for example, medicine, organizational management or military actions.
Flow Chart
- Flow charts are graphic representations of a process. They are models. Flow charts can model an existing process or prescribe the way a process should be. They often use shapes, colors and symbols to represent different things in the process. These objects can be thought of as nodes. Each node can contain conditional logic that dictates the manner in which the process will continue. Algorithm development frequently uses flow charts, and flow charts often model software.
Schematic
- Schematic diagrams describe processes of electrical circuitry -- high-voltage power grids or low-voltage applications such as circuit boards. A schematic is technically both an algorithm and a flow chart. Schematic diagrams, however, are geared specifically toward electronics. Where flow-chart logic may be clear to any audience who looks at it, schematics are not a universal language. They include symbols, representations and concepts that all relate specifically to electronics. Their use and value are predicated on underlying knowledge of electronics.
Pseudocode
- Technically, a computer program is also an algorithm. But programmers generally use the term algorithm to refer to the logic and structure of the program prior to writing the actual code in a specific programming language. When programmers write an algorithm, knowing the language it will be written in, they often create the algorithm in a short-hand known as pseudocode. The pseudocode essentially looks forward to the next step -- the coding -- and replaces some of the symbology with actual code that will be used in the finished program.

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