有没有O(1/n)种算法?

或者其他小于O(1)的数?


当前回答

这不可能。Big-O的定义是不大于不平等:

A(n) = O(B(n))
<=>
exists constants C and n0, C > 0, n0 > 0 such that
for all n > n0, A(n) <= C * B(n)

所以B(n)实际上是最大值,因此如果它随着n的增加而减少,估计不会改变。

其他回答

我相信量子算法可以通过叠加“一次”进行多次计算……

我怀疑这是一个有用的答案。

正如已经指出的,除了null函数可能的例外,不可能有O(1/n)个函数,因为所花费的时间必须接近0。

当然,有一些算法,比如康拉德定义的算法,它们至少在某种意义上应该小于O(1)

def get_faster(list):
    how_long = 1/len(list)
    sleep(how_long)

If you want to investigate these algorithms, you should either define your own asymptotic measurement, or your own notion of time. For example, in the above algorithm, I could allow the use of a number of "free" operations a set amount of times. In the above algorithm, if I define t' by excluding the time for everything but the sleep, then t'=1/n, which is O(1/n). There are probably better examples, as the asymptotic behavior is trivial. In fact, I am sure that someone out there can come up with senses that give non-trivial results.

inline void O0Algorithm() {}

从我之前学习的大O符号来看,即使你需要1步(比如检查一个变量,做一个赋值),那也是O(1)。

注意,O(1)和O(6)是一样的,因为“常数”并不重要。这就是为什么O(n)和O(3n)是一样的。

如果你需要1步,那就是O(1)。因为你的程序至少需要1步,所以算法的最小值是O(1)。除非我们不这样做,那么它是O(0),对吧?如果我们做任何操作,那么它就是O(1)这是它能达到的最小值。

(如果我们选择不这样做,那么它可能成为一个禅宗或道的问题……在编程领域,O(1)仍然是最小值)。

或者这样怎么样:

程序员:老板,我找到了一个在O(1)时间内完成的方法! 老板:没必要,今天早上我们就要破产了。 程序员:哦,那么它就变成了O(0)。

其余的大多数答案都将大o解释为专门关于算法的运行时间。但是因为问题没有提到它,我认为值得一提的是大o在数值分析中的另一个应用,关于误差。

Many algorithms can be O(h^p) or O(n^{-p}) depending on whether you're talking about step-size (h) or number of divisions (n). For example, in Euler's method, you look for an estimate of y(h) given that you know y(0) and dy/dx (the derivative of y). Your estimate of y(h) is more accurate the closer h is to 0. So in order to find y(x) for some arbitrary x, one takes the interval 0 to x, splits it up until n pieces, and runs Euler's method at each point, to get from y(0) to y(x/n) to y(2x/n), and so on.

欧拉方法是O(h)或O(1/n)算法,其中h通常被解释为步长n被解释为你划分一个区间的次数。

在实际数值分析应用中,由于浮点舍入误差,也可以有O(1/h)。你的间隔越小,某些算法的实现就会抵消得越多,丢失的有效数字就越多,因此在算法中传播的错误也就越多。

For Euler's method, if you are using floating points, use a small enough step and cancellation and you're adding a small number to a big number, leaving the big number unchanged. For algorithms that calculate the derivative through subtracting from each other two numbers from a function evaluated at two very close positions, approximating y'(x) with (y(x+h) - y(x) / h), in smooth functions y(x+h) gets close to y(x) resulting in large cancellation and an estimate for the derivative with fewer significant figures. This will in turn propagate to whatever algorithm you require the derivative for (e.g., a boundary value problem).