Siam named the following as the most important algorithms of the
20th century: 1946: The Metropolis Algorithm for Monte Carlo.
Through the use of random processes, this algorithm offers an
efficient way to stumble toward answers to problems that are too
complicated to solve exactly. 1947: Simplex Method for Linear
Programming. An elegant solution to a common problem in planning
and decision-making. 1950: Krylov Subspace Iteration Method. A
technique for rapidly solving the linear equations that abound
in scientific computation. 1951: The Decompositional Approach to
Matrix Computations. A suite of techniques for numerical linear
algebra. 1957: The Fortran Optimizing Compiler. Turns high-level
code into efficient computer-readable code. 1959: QR Algorithm
for Computing Eigenvalues. Another crucial matrix operation made
swift and practical. 1962: Quicksort Algorithms for Sorting. For
the efficient handling of large databases. 1965: Fast Fourier
Transform. Perhaps the most ubiquitous algorithm in use today,
it br