The Analysis of Algorithms PDF

Preface

Computers have undergone phenomenal improvement in speed, availability, and price. This has resulted in a great deal of emphasis being placed on rapid development of correct programs, with performance playing a secondary role. Nevertheless, there are many problems for which a naIve approach is so inefficient that it is unsuitable for even the fastest and cheapest computers. Moreover, there are some problems so common that even a modest improvement in the algorithms used to solve them can lead to important savings. An expert programmer needs to be able to estimate the resources a program will consume. As the field of computer science matures, such considerations will assume increasing importance

Analysis of algorithms brings mathematical techniques to bear on the problem of deciding how much time and space an algorithm requires. It addresses such questions as the maximum time and space needed by an algorithm to solve a problem of a given si7-e, the average amount of resources consumed by an algorithm, and the amount of resources needed by the best possible algorithm to solve a given problem.