Pseudocode

Textbooks and scientific publications related to computer science and numerical computation often use pseudocode in description of algorithms, so that all programmers can understand them, even if they do not all know the same programming languages. In textbooks, there is usually an accompanying introduction explaining the particular conventions in use. The level of detail of the pseudocode may in some cases approach that of formalized general-purpose languages.

A programmer who needs to implement a specific algorithm, especially an unfamiliar one, will often start with a pseudocode description, and then "translate" that description into the target programming language and modify it to interact correctly with the rest of the program. Programmers may also start a project by sketching out the code in pseudocode on paper before writing it in its actual language, as a top-down structuring approach, with a process of steps to be followed as a refinement.

Pseudocode generally does not actually obey the syntax rules of any particular language; there is no systematic standard form. Some writers borrow style and syntax from control structures from some conventional programming language, although this is discouraged.[1][2] Some syntax sources include Fortran, Pascal, BASIC, C, C++, Java, Lisp, and ALGOL. Variable declarations are typically omitted. Function calls and blocks of code, such as code contained within a loop, are often replaced by a one-line natural language sentence.

Depending on the writer, pseudocode may therefore vary widely in style, from a near-exact imitation of a real programming language at one extreme, to a description approaching formatted prose at the other.

This is an example of pseudocode (for the mathematical game fizz buzz):

program fizzbuzz
  Do i = 1 to 100 
    set print_number to true
    If i is divisible by 3
      print "Fizz"
      set print_number to false
    If i is divisible by 5
      print "Buzz" 
      set print_number to false
    If print_number, print i
    print a newline
  end do

procedure fizzbuzz;
  for i := 1 to 100 do
    print_number := true;
    if i is divisible by 3 then begin
      print "Fizz";
      print_number := false;
    end;
    if i is divisible by 5 then begin
      print "Buzz";
      print_number := false;
    end;
    if print_number, print i;
    print a newline;
  end

fizzbuzz() {
  for (i = 1; i <= 100; i++) {
    print_number = true;
    if (i is divisible by 3) {
      print "Fizz";
      print_number = false;
    }
    if (i is divisible by 5) {
      print "Buzz";
      print_number = false;
    }
    if (print_number) print i;
    print a newline;
  }
}

Sub fizzbuzz()
  For i = 1 to 100
    print_number = True
    If i is divisible by 3 Then
      Print "Fizz"
      print_number = False
    End If
    If i is divisible by 5 Then
      Print "Buzz"
      print_number = False
    End If
    If print_number = True Then print i
    Print a newline
  Next i
End Sub

In numerical computation, pseudocode often consists of mathematical notation, typically from set and matrix theory, mixed with the control structures of a conventional programming language, and perhaps also natural language descriptions. This is a compact and often informal notation that can be understood by a wide range of mathematically trained people, and is frequently used as a way to describe mathematical algorithms. For example, the sum operator (capital-sigma notation) or the product operator (capital-pi notation) may represent a for-loop and a selection structure in one expression:

Return ${\displaystyle \sum _{k\in S}x_{k}}$

Normally non-ASCII typesetting is used for the mathematical equations, for example by means of markup languages, such as TeX or MathML, or proprietary formula editors.

Mathematical style pseudocode is sometimes referred to as pidgin code, for example pidgin ALGOL (the origin of the concept), pidgin Fortran, pidgin BASIC, pidgin Pascal, pidgin C, and pidgin Lisp.

algorithm ford-fulkerson is
    input: Graph G with flow capacity c, 
           source node s, 
           sink node t
    output: Flow f such that f is maximal from s to t

    (Note that f(u,v) is the flow from node u to node v, and c(u,v) is the flow capacity from node u to node v)

    for each edge (u, v) in GE do
        f(u, v) ← 0
        f(v, u) ← 0

    while there exists a path p from s to t in the residual network Gf do
        let cf be the flow capacity of the residual network Gf
        cf(p) ← min{cf(u, v) | (u, v) in p}
        for each edge (u, v) in p do
            f(u, v) ←  f(u, v) + cf(p)
            f(v, u) ← −f(u, v)

    return f

• Concept programming
• Drakon-chart
• Flowchart
• Literate programming
• Program Design Language
• Short Code
• Structured English

• Zobel, Justin (2013). "Algorithms". Writing for Computer Science (Second ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-802-2.

Look up pseudocode in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• A pseudocode standard
• Collected Algorithms of the ACM
• Pseudocode Guidelines, PDF file.