average-case cost

(definition)

Definition: The sum of costs of an algorithm over all possible inputs divided by the number of possible inputs.

See also worst-case cost, amortized cost, average case, best-case cost.

Note: From Algorithms and Theory of Computation Handbook, page 1-26, Copyright © 1999 by CRC Press LLC. Appearing in the Dictionary of Computer Science, Engineering and Technology, Copyright © 2000 CRC Press LLC.

Author: CRC-A

More information

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Entry modified 2 September 2008.
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Cite this as:
Algorithms and Theory of Computation Handbook, CRC Press LLC, 1999, "average-case cost", in Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures [online], Vreda Pieterse and Paul E. Black, eds. 2 September 2008. (accessed TODAY) Available from: http://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/averageCaseCost.html