ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Algorithmic paradigm

An algorithmic paradigm is like a recipe that tells a computer how to solve a problem. Just like how your mom or dad has a recipe to make your favorite pizza, a computer engineer has a recipe to solve a problem. There are different kinds of recipes to solve different kinds of problems. The algorithmic paradigm is like a cookbook for computer engineers, it has many recipes to solve many problems.

One recipe is called divide and conquer. This recipe tells the computer engineer to break the problem into smaller pieces that are easier to solve. Then, solve each piece separately and combine the solutions to solve the whole problem.

Another recipe is called greedy algorithms. This recipe tells the computer engineer to choose a step that makes the most sense at the moment and keep doing that until the problem is solved.

A third recipe is called dynamic programming. This recipe tells the computer engineer to solve smaller problems first, then use those solutions to solve bigger problems.

Each recipe has different advantages and disadvantages depending on the problem. So, the computer engineer must choose the best recipe for the problem they are trying to solve.

Just like how you need the right recipe to make your favorite pizza, computer engineers need the right algorithmic paradigm to solve a problem.