Quote:
Originally Posted by Inverness
What the hell are you talking about?
|
This is big O notation, it is how we measure the efficiency of algorithms, without being hardware-specific. The O stands for order, which can take 2 meanings:
- In mathematics, O(f) is for all terms order f and above. f is usually a function where the parameter is much less than 1 (error terms).
- In computer science O(f) is the major factor in determining algorithm efficiency. f is a function of n, which is a whole number.
For example, the quicksort algorithm is
O(n log n) [for every item to sort, it takes log base 2 of n loops to find its place].