Scribd
Upload
10 views

Problem Solving

Time and space complexity describe how long an algorithm takes to run and how much memory it requires based on the size of the input. Time complexity is expressed using Big O notation, which describes the worst-case scenario. For example, an algorithm that adds two numbers has a time complexity of O(1) since it requires a constant number of steps regardless of input size. Big O notation also describes the complexity of algorithms in terms of polynomials and exponentials, with lower order polynomials and smaller exponents indicating better performance.

Uploaded by

mohammed.riad.bi.2020
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
10 views

Problem Solving

Time and space complexity describe how long an algorithm takes to run and how much memory it requires based on the size of the input. Time complexity is expressed using Big O notation, which describes the worst-case scenario. For example, an algorithm that adds two numbers has a time complexity of O(1) since it requires a constant number of steps regardless of input size. Big O notation also describes the complexity of algorithms in terms of polynomials and exponentials, with lower order polynomials and smaller exponents indicating better performance.

Uploaded by

mohammed.riad.bi.2020
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Problem Solving

Time complexity
is a function that describes how long an algorithm takes in terms
of the quantity of input it receives.

Space complexity
is a function that describes how much memory (space) an
algorithm requires to the quantity of input to the method.

Time complexity of an algorithm is called big O notation


The addition of two scalar numbers requires one addition operation. the
time complexity of this algorithm is constant, so T(n) = O(1) .

Note that the time to run is a function of the length of the input and not the
actual execution time of the machine on which the algorithm is running
on.

big O notation what is ?


Big O notation describes the complexity of your code
using algebraic terms.
to understand what Big O notation is, we can take a look at
a typical example, O(n²), which is usually pronounced “Big
O squared”. The letter “n” here represents the input size,
and the function “g(n) = n²” inside the “O()” gives us an
idea of how complex the algorithm is with respect to the
input size.
A typical algorithm that has the complexity of O(n²) would
be the selection sort algorithm. Selection sort is a sorting
algorithm that iterates through the list to ensure every
element at index i is the ith smallest/largest element of the
list.

Meanging of big o
1. O(1) has the least complexity
Often called “constant time”, if you can create an algorithm
to solve the problem in O(1), you are probably at your best.
In some scenarios
2. O(log(n)) is more complex than O(1), but less
complex than polynomials
As complexity is often related to divide and conquer
algorithms, O(log(n)) is generally a good complexity you can
reach for sorting algorithms. O(log(n)) is less complex than
O(√n), because the square root function can be considered a
polynomial, where the exponent is 0.5.
3. Complexity of polynomials increases as the exponent
increases
For example, O(n⁵) is more complex than O(n⁴).
4-Exponentials have greater complexity than
polynomials as long as the coefficients are positive
multiples of n
O(2ⁿ) is more complex than O(n⁹⁹), but O(2ⁿ) is actually less complex
than O(1). We generally take 2 as base for exponentials and
logarithms because things tends to be binary in Computer Science,
but exponents can be changed by changing the coefficients. If not
specified, the base for logarithms is assumed to be 2.

You might also like