Short Notes Request

Short Notes:

Could you clarify the topic or subject for the short notes? For example, is it for a specific
subject, concept, or idea?

Asymptotic notations
Heap sort
Approaches to solve recurrence
Backtracking Algorithm

Short Notes:

1. Asymptotic Notations

Asymptotic notations are mathematical tools to describe the time complexity or space
complexity of an algorithm in terms of input size n.

Big-O (O ): Upper bound; worst-case scenario.

Big-Omega (Ω): Lower bound; best-case scenario.

Big-Theta (Θ): Tight bound; average-case scenario when the function grows at the same
rate in both upper and lower bounds.

Little-o (o): Strictly smaller than the upper bound.

Little-omega (ω ): Strictly greater than the lower bound.

2. Heap Sort

Heap Sort is a comparison-based sorting algorithm that uses a binary heap structure.

Steps:

1. Build a max heap from the input data.

2. Extract the largest element (root) and place it at the end of the array.

3. Reduce the heap size and heapify the root. Repeat until the heap size is 1.

Complexity:

Time: O(n log n) for all cases.

Space: O(1) (in-place sorting).

Properties: Stable sorting is not guaranteed.

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3. Approaches to Solve Recurrence

Recurrences define problems in terms of smaller subproblems. Common methods to solve

Substitution Method: Guess the solution and verify by induction.

Recursion Tree Method: Visualize the recurrence as a tree and sum the work done at
each level.

Master Theorem: Provides a direct solution for recurrences of the form T (n) =
aT (n/b) + f (n).

Compare f (n) with nlogb a to decide the dominant term.

Iteration Method: Expand the recurrence repeatedly to find a pattern and derive the
closed form.

4. Backtracking Algorithm

Backtracking is a systematic way to explore all possibilities for solving problems like
constraint satisfaction, pathfinding, or combinatorics.

Steps:

1. Choose a candidate solution.

2. Test if the candidate satisfies the constraints.

3. If valid, proceed; otherwise, backtrack and choose another candidate.

Applications:

N-Queens Problem

Sudoku Solver

Hamiltonian Cycle

Subset Sum Problem

Complexity: Generally exponential O(k n ), where k is the branching factor and n is the
depth.

Let me know if you need elaboration on any of these!

Dynamic programming
Spanning trees

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 All-Pairs Shortest Paths
Minimum Spanning Tree

Short Notes:

1. Dynamic Programming (DP)

Dynamic Programming is an optimization technique used to solve problems by breaking

Steps:

1. Define the problem in terms of subproblems.

2. Identify base cases.

3. Use a recurrence relation to solve larger problems using smaller ones.

4. Store solutions in a table (tabulation) or cache (memoization).

Types:

Top-down (Memoization): Recursive approach with caching.

Bottom-up (Tabulation): Iterative approach building solutions from base cases.

Applications:

Fibonacci Sequence, Longest Common Subsequence (LCS), Knapsack Problem,

2. Spanning Trees

A spanning tree of a graph is a subgraph that is a tree and connects all vertices with the
minimum number of edges.

Properties:

A spanning tree of a graph with V vertices has exactly V − 1 edges.

Applications:

Network design, clustering, etc.

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3. All-Pairs Shortest Paths (APSP)

The APSP problem finds the shortest paths between all pairs of vertices in a graph.

Algorithms:

Floyd-Warshall: Dynamic programming approach; O(V 3 ) time complexity.

Johnson's Algorithm: Suitable for sparse graphs, uses Bellman-Ford and Dijkstra;
O(V 2 log V + V E).
Naïve Method: Apply Dijkstra or Bellman-Ford for each vertex as the source; O(V ⋅
Tsingle−source ).
​

Applications:

Routing, network analysis, and urban planning.

4. Minimum Spanning Tree (MST)

An MST is a spanning tree of a weighted, connected graph that has the smallest possible
total edge weight.

Algorithms:

Prim's Algorithm: Greedy method, works well with dense graphs; O(V 2 ) or
O(E + log V ) with a priority queue.
Kruskal's Algorithm: Greedy method, sorts edges and uses Union-Find for cycle
detection; O(E log E).

Applications:

Network design, circuit design, clustering, etc.

Properties:

An MST is unique if all edge weights are distinct.

It spans all vertices with no cycles.

Let me know if you'd like further details or examples!

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