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Dynamic Programming and Greedy Notes

The document provides an overview of Dynamic Programming (DP) and Greedy Techniques, explaining their definitions, key concepts, and common examples. It outlines the steps to solve DP problems and contrasts DP with Greedy methods in terms of subproblem reuse, time complexity, and optimality. Additionally, it offers guidance on when to use DP versus Greedy approaches and lists practice problems for both techniques.

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Eyob Adamu
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3 views2 pages

Dynamic Programming and Greedy Notes

The document provides an overview of Dynamic Programming (DP) and Greedy Techniques, explaining their definitions, key concepts, and common examples. It outlines the steps to solve DP problems and contrasts DP with Greedy methods in terms of subproblem reuse, time complexity, and optimality. Additionally, it offers guidance on when to use DP versus Greedy approaches and lists practice problems for both techniques.

Uploaded by

Eyob Adamu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Dynamic Programming & Greedy Technique - Notes

DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING (DP)

Definition:
Dynamic Programming is a method for solving complex problems by breaking them down into simpler subproblems and
storing the results of already solved subproblems to avoid redundant work.

Key Concepts:
1. Overlapping Subproblems
Example: Fibonacci sequence
2. Optimal Substructure
Example: Shortest path in a graph
3. Memoization (Top-Down)
Store results in a table (usually recursion + cache)
4. Tabulation (Bottom-Up)
Build table from smallest subproblem up to the final solution

Steps to Solve a DP Problem:


1. Define the state (dp[i] or dp[i][j])
2. Define the recurrence relation
3. Identify base cases
4. Implement using top-down (memoization) or bottom-up (tabulation)
5. Optimize space if possible

Common Examples:
- Fibonacci Numbers - 1D DP: dp[n] = dp[n-1] + dp[n-2]
- 0/1 Knapsack - 2D DP: dp[i][w] = max(dp[i-1][w], value + dp[i-1][w-weight])
- Longest Common Subsequence - 2D DP: dp[i][j] = dp[i-1][j-1] + 1 (if match)
- Longest Increasing Subsequence - 1D DP
- Matrix Chain Multiplication - Interval DP
- Coin Change - 1D DP: dp[i] += dp[i - coin] or dp[i] = min(dp[i], 1 + dp[i - coin])
- Edit Distance - 2D DP: Insert, delete, or replace

GREEDY TECHNIQUE

Definition:
Greedy algorithms make locally optimal choices at each step, hoping to find a global optimum.

Characteristics:
1. Greedy Choice Property
2. No need to solve all subproblems
3. Faster and easier, but only works if the problem has the greedy property

Common Greedy Examples:


- Activity Selection - Sort by end time
- Fractional Knapsack - Take max value/weight ratio first
- Huffman Encoding - Merge lowest frequency
- Job Sequencing - Sort by profit and deadline
- Coin Change - Only works when denominations are canonical
- Kruskal's Algorithm - Minimum Spanning Tree
Dynamic Programming & Greedy Technique - Notes

- Prim's Algorithm - MST using priority queue


- Dijkstra's Algorithm - Shortest path using greedy strategy

DP vs Greedy:
- Subproblem Reuse: DP - Yes, Greedy - No
- Time Complexity: DP - Higher, Greedy - Lower
- Optimal for all cases: DP - Yes, Greedy - Not always
- Use Case: DP - overlapping subproblems, Greedy - greedy property

How to Decide Between DP and Greedy?


- Use DP if optimal substructure and overlapping subproblems exist
- Use Greedy if local optimum leads to global optimum
- Test greedy on small input to verify

Practice Problems:
Dynamic Programming:
- Fibonacci
- 0/1 Knapsack
- Longest Common Subsequence
- Coin Change
- Edit Distance
- Matrix Chain Multiplication

Greedy:
- Activity Selection
- Fractional Knapsack
- Job Sequencing
- Huffman Coding
- Kruskal's and Prim's Algorithm

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