KwickClips Java · 40 sec · free
Why not just time the program with a stopwatch?
Short answer. The time depends on the machine, so it cannot compare two algorithms fairly.
What decides whether an algorithm is fast?
How its step count grows as n grows.
Count steps, not seconds
| Students n | Check each | Halve |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 1,000 | 10 |
| 10,00,000 | 10,00,000 | 20 |
Remember
| Count steps, not seconds |
| Growth with n decides speed |
Is a program fast just because your laptop is fast? No. We count steps as input n grows. In ten lakh students, checking each takes ten lakh steps. Halving takes twenty. Count steps, not seconds. Growth with n decides speed.
This clip is from the full lesson: Algorithm Complexity and Big O Notation — 7 minutes, with the tables, the quick answers and the whole lesson in text.
Useful for: ISC Class 12 Computer Science (868), ISC Class 12 Computer Science (868), ISC Class 12 Computer Science (868), ISC Class 12 Computer Science (868)
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