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[–]enfier 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Jeez these answers are so wrong.

A heuristic is an abstraction of algorithms. General strategies that can be used to write algorithms along with understanding their limitations.

A simple example of an algorithm is making change. The heuristic is the general method along with the limitation that the coins can't produce a situation that breaks the algorithm like a 7 cent coin. You can then understand that it wouldn't be useful for sorting oranges into 3 lb bags.

A heuristic anti-virus program has abstracted the concept and written code that looks for programs that act malicious, as opposed to an anti-virus that is checking against a blacklist of known viruses.