∼

(definition)

Definition: (1) Proportional to. (2) Asymptotically equal to. A theoretical measure of the execution of an algorithm, usually the time or memory needed, given the problem size n, which is usually the number of items. Informally, saying some equation f(n) ∼ g(n) means it grows at the same rate as g(n). More formally, it means lim_{x → ∞}f(x)/g(x) = 1.

See also big-O notation, Θ(n).

Author: PEB

Go to the Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures home page.

If you have suggestions, corrections, or comments, please get in touch with Paul Black.

Entry modified 24 February 2016.
HTML page formatted Wed Mar 13 12:42:45 2019.

Cite this as:
Paul E. Black, "∼", in Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures [online], Paul E. Black, ed. 24 February 2016. (accessed TODAY) Available from: https://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/sim.html