Best of Algorithms — February 2026

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    Article
    Avatar of freecodecampfreeCodeCamp·15w

    Harvard CS50 2026 – Free Computer Science University Course

    Harvard's CS50 2026 course is now available as a free 25-hour video series covering fundamental computer science concepts. The course teaches algorithmic thinking and problem-solving through multiple programming languages including C, Python, SQL, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Topics span algorithms, data structures, memory management, web programming, and a new section on artificial intelligence's impact on computer science. Taught by David J. Malan, the course is designed for beginners with no prior programming experience.

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    Article
    Avatar of hackadayHackaday·14w

    Running Pokémon With A Compass And Straightedge

    A developer created CasNum, a system that implements computation using only compass and straightedge operations—the same geometric tools used in ancient mathematics. The project represents numbers as points in a Cartesian plane and performs arithmetic through geometric constructions. As a proof of concept, they modified a Game Boy emulator to use these operations for its ALU instructions, successfully booting Pokémon at roughly 1 FPS after extensive caching. The project demonstrates how classical geometric constraints mirror computational limitations and explores the boundary between analog and digital computing.

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    Article
    Avatar of yhf9cpdgtqetokv6d8qhmJohn Liter·13w

    I Thought Swapping Variables Was Too Easy… I Was Wrong

    A beginner C++ programmer reflects on a variable-swapping exercise that turned into a deeper lesson about memory, state mutation, and code clarity. Starting with the naive broken approach, the post walks through the temporary variable method, arithmetic swap, XOR swap, and finally std::swap(), concluding that learning manual swaps teaches how state changes in memory rather than just how to use a library function. The post ends with open questions about whether XOR swap still has practical uses and whether production code ever uses manual swaps.

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