Performance: theory and practice
General observations
Performance matters
How do we characterize performance?
Asymptotic representations
The O(f(n)) notation
Examples of O-notation
Related notations
The importance of these notations
Sometimes algorithms vary
What are we measuring? (harder than it sounds)
Real computers have bounded memory
A concrete example (HW1, part 2)
Analyzing the loop
File-system directories have similar problems
Fast string duplication
Another approach
Measuring performance in practice
A measurement example
What is going on here?
Another example: memory allocation
Another timing example
Benchmark detectors
Other hazards
Advice
Homework assignment #3 (due Monday)
Email: ark@research.att.com
Home Page: http://www.research.att.com/info/ark