Algorithm Design: Exhaustive Search Algorithms

Exhaustive search algorithms

An exhaustive search or brute force algorithm examines every possible alternative to find one particular solution. For example, if you used the brute force algorithm to find the ringing telephone, you would ignore the ringing of the phone as if you could not hear it, and simply walk over every square inch of your home, checking to see if the phone was present. You probably wouldn’t be able to answer the phone before it stopped ringing unless you were very lucky, but you would be guaranteed to eventually find the phone no matter where it was.