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string reverse O(N) or O(N/2)

 
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Hi,

i am trying to reverse a string the code is below. in the //1 it is simple reverse and in //2 i have used two indexes for reverse.


Is it really true that first one is O(N) and //2 is O(N/2). I think it is not possible to reduce the time complexity by O(N/2) for strings.
No matter we use; one or two indexes we have to visit each element; we can tell it is O(N/2) only when we really don't visit remaining half elements.

I think we cant reduce the string reverse to O(N/2)? Please correct me if i am wrong.

Thanks
Chandrashekar
 
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Note that there is no O(N/2) - it is linear complexity, and asymptotically the same as O(N). In this particular case, performance is probably improved much more by using a StringBuilder instead of string concatenation.
 
Chandra shekar M
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Hi,

In java String is stored as a char array; in java size of the array is predetermined and stored in head so getting the size of the array or string will be O(1).
and however string reverse will be O(N) it cant be less than this; as you will end up visiting each element when reversing.

Thanks
Chandra
 
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Regardless of how you store the String every character has to be considered to reverse the String, so regardless of whether it is in an array or a List, the best you are going to get is O(n)


Hunter
 
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Chandra shekar M wrote:Hi,

In java String is stored as a char array; in java size of the array is predetermined and stored in head so getting the size of the array or string will be O(1).
and however string reverse will be O(N) it cant be less than this; as you will end up visiting each element when reversing.

Thanks
Chandra



I doubt, why do I need to visit on each element on string? What about below code. I know there is no O(N/2), as Ulf said its linear complexity, but in this case it is.

 
Hunter McMillen
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Vijay Kumar wrote:

I doubt, why do I need to visit on each element on string? What about below code. I know there is no O(N/2), as Ulf said its linear complexity, but in this case it is.



Just because you don't iterate from 0 to N doesn't mean that you don't operate on every element from 0 to N. In the code above you perform two operations per iteration of your for loop, which still comes out to be O(n). So regardless of how many operations you perform in your loop, you still touch N elements.

Also, this thread is 3 years old; you probably shouldn't post on it.

Hunter
 
Vijay Kumar
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Thanks Hunter,

I did post because I had an doubt and now its clear as you said

So regardless of how many operations you perform in your loop, you still touch N elements.




Thanks,
Vijay
 
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Hunter McMillen wrote:Just because you don't iterate from 0 to N doesn't mean that you don't operate on every element from 0 to N.


But, as Ulf pointed out, that's not the major reason that an algorithm is O(n).

The O notation is used mainly as a guide to behaviour; specifically, as to how it's likely to change with changes in the amount of input. It should also be pointed out that it is not necessarily a good guide as to how long something will run, because 'O' is generally not defined.
Most often, the only things you're interested in are whether it's O(n), O(log n) or O(1).

I know this because I got it wrong...a while ago, it has to be said.

Also, this thread is 3 years old; you probably shouldn't post on it.


Now that is a good point; which I've unfortunately just broken myself.

Winston
 
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We used to worry a lot about old threads, but have changed our policy in the last year or two.
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