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PageRank

Algorithm

An algorithm that scores the importance of nodes in a linked graph, originally web pages, by modeling a random walker who follows links and occasionally jumps to a random page, so that a page is ranked highly when it is linked to by other highly ranked pages.

Facts
Origin Year
1996 1
Core Principle
A link-analysis algorithm that assigns each page in a hyperlinked set a numerical importance score computed recursively from the number and PageRank of the pages linking to it, on the assumption that a link is a vote of support from the linking page. 1
Connections

In Field

Invented

Larry Page, Pioneers

Larry Page co-invented the PageRank algorithm with Sergey Brin at Stanford, described in their 1998 paper on the anatomy of a search engine.

Sergey Brin, Pioneers

Sergey Brin co-invented the PageRank algorithm with Larry Page at Stanford, described in their 1998 paper on the anatomy of a search engine.

Sources
1. Wikipedia: PageRank
Wikimedia Foundation
  • History section, Stanford paragraph
    Larry Page and Sergey Brin developed PageRank at Stanford University in 1996 as part of a research project to consider a new kind of search engine differentiated from then-dominant players like DEC's AltaVista.
  • Lead section, description paragraph
    The PageRank of a page is defined recursively and depends on the number and PageRank metric of all pages that link to it ("incoming links"). A page that is linked to by many pages with high PageRank receives a high rank itself.
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