Author of OR algorithms book: dozens of algorithms are the same once you strip representations
burny_tech · x · 2026-11-12
- Algorithm author jiriknesl found while writing his OR algorithms book that many algorithms are the same or nearly the same once different representations are removed — e.g. shortest path is semiring-based computation.
- He went through hundreds of algorithms and often found 40-50 differing by just one parameter or one function in a composition.
- He believes abstract algorithms in space search + reduction could unify existing ones and yield dozens of useful new algorithms.
- The reposter adds: learning abstract algebra reveals there are really only a handful of algorithms.
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