website/content/notes/algorithms/dynamic.md

82 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
Raw Normal View History

2020-01-15 21:51:49 -05:00
# Dynamic Programming
The book first goes into talking about the complexity of the Fibonacci algorithm
```
RecFibo(n):
if n = 0
return 0
else if n = 1
return 1
else
return RecFibo(n - 1) + RecFibo(n - 2)
```
It talks about how the complexity of this is exponential.
"A single call to `RecFibo(n)` results in one recursive call to `RecFibo(n1)`, two recursive calls to `RecFibo(n2)`, three recursive calls to `RecFibo(n3)`, five recursive calls to `RecFibo(n4)`"
Now consider the memoized version of this algorithm...
```
MemFibo(n):
if n = 0
return 0
else if n = 1
return 1
else
if F[n] is undefined:
F[n] <- MemFibo(n - 1) + MemFibo(n - 2)
return F[n]
```
This actually makes the algorithm run in linear time!
![1564017052666](/home/rozek/Documents/StudyGroup/Algorithms/1564017052666.png)
Dynamic programming makes use of this fact and just intentionally fills up an array with the values of $F$.
```
IterFibo(n):
F[0] <- 0
F[1] <- 1
for i <- 2 to n
F[i] <- F[i - 1] + F[i - 2]
return F[n]
```
Here the linear complexity becomes super apparent!
<u>Interesting snippet</u>
"We had a very interesting gentleman in Washington named Wilson. He was secretary of Defense, and he actually had a pathological fear and hatred of the word *research*. Im not using the term lightly; Im using it precisely. His face would suffuse, he would turn red, and he would get violent if people used the term *research* in his presence. You can imagine how he felt, then, about the term *mathematical*.... I felt I had to do something to shield Wilson and the Air Force from the fact that I was really doing mathematics inside the RAND Corporation. What title, what name, could I choose?"
Dynamic programming is essentially smarter recursion. It's about not repeating the same work.
These algorithms are best developed in two distinct stages.
(1) Formulate the problem recursively.
(a) Specification: What problem are you trying to solve?
(b) Solution: Why is the whole problem in terms of answers t smaller instances exactly the same problem?
(2) Find solutions to your recurrence from the bottom up
(a) Identify the subproblems
(b) Choose a memoization data structure
(c) Identify dependencies
(d) Find a good evaluation order
(e) Analyze space and running time
(f) Write down the algorithm
## Greedy Algorithms
If we're lucky we can just make decisions directly instead of solving any recursive subproblems. The problem is that greedly algorithms almost never work.