DS(3330704) Page | 2

Analysis Terms

Complexity
When we talk of complexity in context of computers, we call it computational
complexity. Computational complexity is a characterization of the time or space
requirements for solving a problem by a particular algorithm. These requirements
are expressed in terms of a single parameter that represents the size of the
problem.
The time complexity of a program/algorithm is the amount of computer
time that it needs to run to completion. The space complexity of a
program/algorithm is the amount of the memory that it needs to run to
completion.

Time Complexity
How long does this sorting program run? The time complexity of an
algorithm is how much time it will take to run to completion, this is
extremely important to know as it is used to compare the efficiencies of
algorithms and can show valuable insight into how the algorithm will perform
with n values, before attempting to run (perhaps a ridiculously long duration)
algorithm.

Space Complexity
The space complexity of an algorithm is the amount of memory it
needs to run to completion. The space needed by the program is the num of the
following components:
Fixed space requirement: This includes the instruction space, for simple
variables, fixed size structured variables, and constants.
Variable space requirement: This consists of space needed by structured
variables whose size depends on particular instance of variables. It also includes
the additional space required when the function uses recursion.

Asymptotic Notation
Asymptotic notation is a way of expressing the cost of an algorithm. Goal of
Asymptotic notation is to simplify Analysis by getting rid of unneeded
information. Different asymptotic notations are O (Big-Oh Notation), Ω (Omega
Notation), Θ (Theta Notation).

Big ‘O’ Notation

Big-Oh notation provides an upper bound on a function to within a constant

Government Polytechnic, Porbandar