1

Lecture # 2

03/02/25
 Contents 2

 Analyzing Running Time

 Asymptotic Analysis
 Asymptotic Notations Properties
 Rate of Growth ≡Asymptotic Analysis
 Rate of Growth
 Classification of Growth
 Asymptotic Upper Bound (Big Oh )
 Big-Omega Notation ()
 Theta Notation ()

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 Analyzing Running Time 3

T(n), or theAsymptotic analysis

running time of a particular algorithm on input of size n, is taken to be
the number of times the instructions in the algorithm are executed. Pseudo code
algorithm illustrates the calculation of the mean (average) of a set of n numbers:

1. n = read input from user

2. sum = 0
3. i = 0
4. while i < n
5. number = read input from user
6. sum = sum + number
7. i = i + 1
8. mean = sum / n
The computing time for this algorithm in terms on input size n is: T(n) = 4n + 5.
Statement Number of times executed
1 1
2 1
3 1
4 n+1
5 n
6 n
7 n
8 1

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 Asymptotic analysis 4

 The very word “asymptotic” scares people because it

sounds complicated.

 The definition doesn't serve to alleviate that fear.

Something that's asymptotic relates to a asymptote,
which is defined as “A line whose distance to a given
curve tends toward zero”.

 That's damn near worthless, so let's say that something

asymptotic refers to a limiting behavior based on a
single variable and a desired measure.

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 5

 Measures algorithm efficiency

 Categorize algorithms based on asymptotic growth rate

e.g. linear, quadratic, polynomial, exponential

 Ignore small constant and small inputs

 Estimate upper bound and lower bound on growth rate

of time complexity function

 Describe running time of algorithm as n grows to .

 Describes behavior of function within the limit.

Limitations
 not always useful for analysis on fixed-size inputs.

 All results are for sufficiently large inputs.

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 Asymptotic analysis 6

 The simplest example is, when considering a

function f(n), there is a need to describe its
properties when n becomes very large.

 Thus, if f(n) = n2+3n, the term 3n becomes

insignificant compared to n2 when n is very large.

 The function "f(n) is said to be asymptotically

equivalent to n2 as n → ∞", and this is written
symbolically as f(n) ~ n2.

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 7

 A way of comparing functions that ignores constant

factors and small input sizes
 Using rate of growth as a measure to compare different
functions implies comparing them asymptotically.

 If f(x) is faster growing than g(x), then f(x) always

eventually becomes larger than g(x) in the limit (for
large enough values of x).

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 8

 The rate of growth of a function determines how

fast the function value increases when the input
increases

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 9

 If algorithm A does x3 operations on an input of size x

and algorithm B does x2 operations, algorithm B is
more efficient
 Because of the relative growth rate, we will consider
x3 + x2 + x equivalent to x3

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 10

 Suppose you are designing a web site to process user

data (e.g., financial records).

 Suppose program A takes fA(n)=30n+8 microseconds

to process any n records, while program B takes
fB(n)=n2+1 microseconds to process the n records.

 Which program would you choose, knowing you’ll want

to support millions of users?

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 11

On a graph, as
you go to the
right, a faster
growing
function fA(n)=30n+8

Value of function 
eventually
becomes
larger...
fB(n)=n2+1

Increasing n 

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 Classification of Growth 12

•Asymptotic Upper Bound (Big Oh O-

notation )

•Asymptotic tight bound(ThetaΘ-

notation )

•Asymptotic lower bound(Omega Ω-

notation )

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 Asymptotic Upper Bound (Big Oh )
13

• Big O notation is used in Computer Science to

describe the performance or complexity of an
algorithm.

• Big O specifically describes the worst-case

scenario, and can be used to describe the execution
time required or the space used (e.g. in memory or
on disk) by an algorithm.

• In 1892, P. Bachmann invented a notation for

characterizing the asymptotic behavior of functions.
His invention has come to be known as big oh
notation:

Big O notation: asymptotic “less than”:

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Asymptotic Upper Bound(Big Oh: Less than or equal to(“<=”) )
14

For a given function g(n), we denote O(g(n)) as the

set of functions :
O(g(n)) { f(n) | there exists positive
constants c and n0 such that
0 f(n) c. g(n) for all n n0 }

f n  g n  means function g n is an asymptotically

upper bound for f n .
We may write f(n) = O(g(n)) OR f(n)  O(g(n))
Or f(n)=O(g(n)) implies: f(n) “≤” g(n)
Intuitively:
Set of all functions whose rate of growth is the same as or lower
than that of g(n).
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 Big-Oh Notation 15

f(n)  O(g(n))

 c > 0,  n0  0 and n  n0, 0  f(n)  c.g(n)

g(n) is an asymptotic upper bound for f(n), although f(n) starts above cg(n) in
the figure, eventually it falls beneath cg(n) and stays there.

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 Examples 16

Example 1: Prove that 2n2  O(n3)

Proof:
Assume that f(n) = 2n2 , and g(n) = n3
f(n)  O(g(n)) ?
Now we have to find the existence of c and n 0

f(n) ≤ c.g(n)  2n2 ≤ c.n3  2 ≤ c.n

if we take, c = 1 and n0= 2 OR
c = 2 and n0= 1 then
2n2 ≤ c.n3
Hence f(n)  O(g(n)), c = 1 and n0= 2

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 Examples 17

Example 2: Prove that n2  O(n2)

Proof:
Assume that f(n) = n2 , and g(n) = n2
Now we have to show that f(n)  O(g(n))

Since
f(n) ≤ c.g(n)  n2 ≤ c.n2  1 ≤ c, take, c = 1, n0= 1

Then
n2 ≤ c.n2 for c = 1 and n  1
Hence, 2n2  O(n2), where c = 1 and n0= 1

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 Examples 18

• How about n2-3n+10?

– It is O(n2) if there exist c and n0 such that
cn2≥ n2-3n+10 for all n ≥ n0
• We see (fig.) that: 3n2 ≥ n2-3n+10 for all n ≥ 2
• So c=3, n0=2
– More c-n0 pairs could be found, but finding just one is
enough to prove that n2-3n+10 is O(n2)

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 Properties of Big-Oh 19

• Ignore low-order terms

– e.g., O(n3+4n2+3n)=O(n3)
• Ignore multiplicative constant
– e.g., O(5n3)=O(n3)
• n4 + 100n2 + 10n + 50 is of the order of n4 or O(n4)
• 10n3 + 2n2 is O(n3)
• n3 - n2 is O(n3)
• 10 is O(1),
• 1273 is O(1)
• Combine growth-rate functions
– O(f(n)) + O(g(n)) = O(f(n)+g(n))
– e.g., O(n2) + O(n*log2n) = O(n2 + n*log2n)
• Then, O(n2 + n*log2n) = O(n2)

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Big-O Visualization 20

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 Properties of Big-Oh 21

if (i<j)
for ( i=0; i<N; i++ )
O(N)
X = X+i;
else
X=0; O(1)

Max ( O(N), O(1) ) = O (N)

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 Big-Omega Notation () 22

• Asymptotic lower bound

• Ω (g(n)) represents a set of functions such
that:

Ω(g(n)) = {f(n): there exist positive

constants c and n0 such that
0≤
We may write f(n) c g(n)OR
= (g(n)) ≤ f(n)
f(n)for all n≥ n0}
(g(n))

Intuitively:
Set of all functions whose rate of growth is the same as or higher
than that of g(n).

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 Big-Omega Notation () 23

This is almost the same definition as Big Oh, except that

"f(n) ≥ cg(n)", this makes g(n) a lower bound function,
instead of an upper bound function.

It describes the best that can happen for a given data

size.

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 Big-Omega Notation 24

f(n)  (g(n))

 c > 0,  n0  0 , n  n0, f(n)  c.g(n)

g(n) is an asymptotically lower bound for f(n).
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 Examples 25

Example 1: Prove that 5.n2  (n)

Proof:
Assume that f(n) = 5.n2 , and g(n) = n
f(n)  (g(n)) ?
We have to find the existence of c and n 0 s.t.
c.g(n) ≤ f(n)  n  n0
c.n ≤ 5.n2  c ≤ 5.n
if we take, c = 5 and n0= 1 then
c.n ≤ 5.n2  n  n0
And hence f(n)  (g(n)), for c = 5 and n0= 1

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 Examples 26

Example 2: Prove that 5.n + 10  (n)

Proof:
Assume that f(n) = 5.n + 10, and g(n) = n
f(n)  (g(n)) ?
We have to find the existence of c and n0 s.t.
c.g(n) ≤ f(n)  n  n0
c.n ≤ 5.n + 10  c.n ≤ 5.n + 10.n  c ≤ 15.n
if we take, c = 15 and n0= 1 then
c.n ≤ 5.n + 10  n  n0
And hence f(n)  (g(n)), for c = 15 and n0= 1

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 Theta Notation () 27

Asymptotic tight bound

Θ (g(n)) represents a set of functions such that:

Θ (g(n)) = {f(n): there exist positive

constants c1, c2, and n0 such
that 0 ≤ c1g(n) ≤ f(n) ≤ c2g(n)
for all n≥ n0}

We may write f(n) = (g(n)) OR f(n)  (g(n))

Intuitively: Set of all functions that have same rate of growth as g(n).

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 Theta Notation () 28

 Theta means that f is bounded above and below

by g; Big Theta implies the "best fit".
 This is denoted as "f(n) = Θ(g(n))".

 This is basically saying that the function, f(n) is

bounded both from the top and bottom by the
same function, g(n).

 f(n) does not have to be linear itself in order to b

e of linear growth; it just has to be between two li
near functions.

 We will use Theta whenever we have enough

information to show that the f(n) is both an upper
and lower bound. Theta is a “stronger”
statement than Big-Oh or Big-Omega. 03/02/25
 Theta Notation 29

f(n)  (g(n))

 c1> 0, c2> 0,  n0  0,  n  n0, c2.g(n)  f(n)  c1.g(n)

We say that g(n) is an asymptotically tight bound for f(n).
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 Common growth rates 30

Q: What does it mean to say f1(n) = (1)?

A: f1(n) = (1) means after a few n, f1 is bounded abov
e & below by a constant.

Q: What does it mean to say f2(n) = (n lg n)?

A: f2(n) = (n lg n) means that after a few n, f2 is boun
ded above and below by a constant times nlg n. In oth
er words, f2 is the same order of magnitude as nlg n.

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 Common growth rates(Big O) 31

complexit Name Example

y
O(1) constant (perfect Adding to the front of a linked list
scalability)
O(log n) logarithmic Finding an entry in a sorted array
O(n log N-log-n Sorting n items by ‘divide-and-
n) conquer
O(n) linear Finding an entry in an unsorted
array
O(n2 ) Quadratic Shortest path between two nodes in
a graph
O(n3 ) Cubic Simultaneous linear equations
2n exponential (evil) The Towers of Hanoi problem
n! factorial (pure evil) Recursive Problems

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 Common growth rates 32

BETTER  O(1) constant time

 O(log n) log time
 O(n) linear time
 O(n log n) log linear time
 O(n2) quadratic time
 O(n3) cubic time
 O(2n) exponential time
 O(n!) Factorial Time
WORSE

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Number of comparisons for common Big O notations.
33

 Differences among the growth-rate functions grow with n

 See the differences growing on the diagram on the
next page
 The bigger n, the bigger differences -
- that’s why algorithm efficiency is “concern for large
problems only”
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Comparison Graph for Common Big O Notations
34

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 Examples 35

1. statement;
 is constant. The running time of the statement
will not change i.e. O(1)

2. for ( i = 0; i < N; i++ )

statement;
 is linear. The running time of the loop is directly
proportional to N i.e. O(N)

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 Examples 36

3. for ( i = 0; i < N; i++ )

{
for ( j = 0; j < N; j++ )
statement;
}
Is quadratic. The running time of the two loops is
proportional to the square of N. When N doubles,
the running time increases by N * N.
O(N*N)

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 Examples 37

4. while ( low <= high ) {

mid = ( low + high ) / 2;

if ( target < list[mid] )

high = mid - 1;
else if ( target > list[mid] )
low = mid + 1;
else break;
}
Is logarithmic. The running time of the algorithm is
proportional to the number of times N can be divided by 2.
This is because the algorithm divides the working area in half
with each iteration.
O(logN)

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 Examples (Another Way) 38

Algorithm 3 Cost
sum = 0; c1
for(i=0; i<N; i++) c2
for(j=0; j<N; j++) c2
sum += arr[i][j]; c3
------------
c1 + c2 x (N+1) + c2 x N x (N+1) + c3 x N2 = O(N2)

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 Conclusion 39

 In general, doing something with every item in one

dimension is linear,

 Doing something with every item in two dimensions is

quadratic,

 Dividing the working area in half is logarithmic.

 Doing something with every item in three dimensions(loop

nesting up to three levels) cubic,

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 Logarithms and properties 40

 In algorithm analysis we often use the notation “log n”

without specifying the base

Binary logarithm
lg n log2 n log x y  y log x
Natural logarithm ln n loge n log xy  log x  log y
x
lg k n (lg n ) k log  log x  log y
y
lg lg n lg(lg n ) log a
a logb x  x b

log b x  log a x
log a b

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 Common Summations 41

n
n( n  1)
 Arithmetic series:  k 1  2  ...  n 
k 1 2
n
x n 1  1
 Geometric series:  k 2 n
x 1  x  x  ...  x  x 1
k 0 x 1
◦ Special case: |x| < 1: 
1
 
x k

k 0 1 x
 Harmonic series: n
1 1 1

k 1 k
1 
2
 ... 
n
ln n
 Other important n

 lg k n lg n
formulas: k 1

n
1
 k p 1p  2 p  ...  n p 
k 1 p 1
n p 1

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 Self Practice 42

Self Practice Examples & Topics

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 Practice Examples(Big O) 43

Example 3: Prove that 1000.n2 + 1000.n  O(n2)

Proof:
Assume that f(n) = 1000.n2 + 1000.n, and g(n) = n2
We have to find existence of c and n 0 such that
0 ≤ f(n) ≤ c.g(n)  n  n0
1000.n2 + 1000.n ≤ c.n2 = 1001.n2, for c = 1001
1000.n2 + 1000.n ≤ 1001.n2
Û 1000.n ≤ n2  n2  1000.n  n2 - 1000.n  0
Û n (n-1000)  0, this true for n  1000

f(n) ≤ c.g(n)  n  n0 and c = 1001

Hence f(n)  O(g(n)) for c = 1001 and n 0 = 1000

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Practice Examples(Big O) 44

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Practice Examples(Big O) 45

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Practice Examples(Big O) 46

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Practice Examples(Big O) 47

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Practice Examples(Big Omega) 48

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 Little-Oh Notation 49

o-notation is used to denote a upper bound that is not

asymptotically tight.
For a given function g n  0, denoted by og n  the set of functions,
 f n : for any positive constants c, there exists a constant no
og n  
such that 0  f n   cg n for all n n o 

f(n) becomes insignificant relative to g(n) as n

approaches infinity
f n 
2
 
2 2 lim
e.g., 2n o n but 2n o n .. n   g n  0  
g(n) is an upper bound for f(n), not asymptotically tight
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 Examples 50

Example 1: Prove that 2n2  o(n3)

Proof:
Assume that f(n) = 2n2 , and g(n) = n3
f(n)  o(g(n)) ?

Now we have to find the existence n 0 for any c

f(n) < c.g(n) this is true
 2n2 < c.n3  2 < c.n
This is true for any c, because for any arbitrary c we
can choose n0 such that the above inequality holds.
Hence f(n)  o(g(n))

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 Examples 51

Example 2: Prove that n2  o(n2)

Proof:
Assume that f(n) = n2 , and g(n) = n2
Now we have to show that f(n)  o(g(n))

Since
f(n) < c.g(n)  n2 < c.n2  1 ≤ c,

In our definition of small o, it was required to prove

for any c but here there is a constraint over c .
Hence, n2  o(n2), where c = 1 and n0= 1

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 Examples 52

Example 3: Prove that 1000.n2 + 1000.n  o(n2)

Proof:
Assume that f(n) = 1000.n2 + 1000.n, and g(n) = n2
we have to show that f(n)  o(g(n)) i.e.
We assume that for any c there exist n 0 such that
0 ≤ f(n) < c.g(n)  n  n0
1000.n2 + 1000.n < c.n2
If we take c = 2001, then,1000.n 2 + 1000.n < 2001.n2
 1000.n < 1001.n2 which is not true
Hence f(n)  o(g(n)) for c = 2001

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 Little-Omega Notation 53

Little- notation is used to denote a lower bound

that is not asymptotically tight.
For a given function g n , denote by  g n  the set of all functions.
 g n   f n : for any positive constants c, there exists a constant no such that
0 cg n   f n for all n n o 

f(n) becomes arbitrarily large relative to g(n) as n

approaches infinity
f n 
lim 
n   g n 
2 2
n n
e.g.,
2
 n  but
2
 n ..
2
 
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 Examples 54

Example 1: Prove that 5.n2  (n)

Proof:
Assume that f(n) = 5.n2 , and g(n) = n
f(n)  (g(n)) ?
We have to prove that for any c there exists n 0 s.t.,
c.g(n) < f(n)  n  n0
c.n < 5.n2  c < 5.n
This is true for any c, because for any arbitrary c e.g.
c = 1000000, we can choose n 0 = 1000000/5 =
200000 and the above inequality does hold.
And hence f(n)  (g(n)),

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 Examples 55

Example 2: Prove that 5.n + 10  (n)

Proof:
Assume that f(n) = 5.n + 10, and g(n) = n
f(n)  (g(n)) ?

We have to find the existence n 0 for any c, s.t.

c.g(n) < f(n)  n  n0
c.n < 5.n + 10, if we take c = 16 then
16.n < 5.n + 10  11.n < 10 is not true for any
positive integer.
Hence f(n)  (g(n))

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 Examples 56

Example 3: Prove that 100.n  (n2)

Proof:
Let f(n) = 100.n, and g(n) = n 2
Assume that f(n)  (g(n))
Now if f(n)  (g(n)) then there n0 for any c s.t.
c.g(n) < f(n)  n  n0 this is true
 c.n2 < 100.n  c.n < 100
If we take c = 100, n < 1, not possible
Hence f(n)  (g(n)) i.e. 100.n  (n2)

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